The Good Doctor's Plan
by Rakuengaki
Summary: Hojo isn't the only threat to humanity now.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok, so. Trying something new. I've been going on an FFVII kick lately and ben inspired by some absolutely amazing authors and this idea was beating me in the face. I will most likely be kicking myself to write and update this one as often as possible but if you'd like to do that too, go right ahead. Please tell me what you think, I am open to any and all critism. Thank you very much.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot at the OC's. Everything else belongs to Square Enix.

* * *

All he did was sleep now. His eyes were almost always closed, pale yellow lashes laying unmoving on his cheekbones, eyelids still, pupils unresponsive to light. He'd shift every now and then, as through trying to get comfortable though he never moved to outside stimulus anymore. He'd run his fingers through his soft hair slowly, massaging the scalp every now and then, getting the tangles out as best he could. His fingers would trace delicately over the fine bones of face, wondering what it would like if he was awake and active, the sun glinting in those beautiful sapphires, pale lips stretched into a smile, delicate seeming hands waving through the air as he talked. Occasionally, his eyes would open but he'd never move during that time. He'd be like a child's doll, fully pose able but cold, lifeless. The "doctors" would come then, two or three brutes in tow to hold him back as they took his precious little kitten away, ignoring his screaming and cursing, his struggles to rip the kitten from them to hide him, protect him.

They'd ignore him, taking his kitten from him, laying him on a gurney while the brutes held him, an assistant shoving a needle into the first available vein and injecting the cursed sedative into him. When he went limp, they'd let him go, leave him on the cold white floor and he'd be forced to watch the door close behind them. It would be a long, long time before he'd get his kitten back. He'd awaken many hours later to see that they had tucked him in bed, away from him, hooked up to monitors and leads, even paler and thinner and more fragile than before. His kitten didn't even reach out for him anymore.

At first, he'd been perfectly lively, scared out of his mind, depressed, tired or hurting from their torture, but lively. In their down time, as they'd shared a cell, they had slowly bonded, the boy turning into his companion, then his comforter when the "doctors'" attentions would turn to him, and then finally, his precious kitten, who'd always curl up in his arms when he was scared, tired or hurting. His kitten would always reach for him after he woke up and saw him in his bed, attached to those monitors and leads, delicate little fingers reaching out to him, curling tightly around his own as they wove their fingers together.

He, of course, was used to scientists and their prodding, their clinical and impersonal way of dealing with their subjects. He had been so very used to it. His kitten, however, who had grown up running through the forests around his mountain village, doing chores for his mother, dreaming of becoming a hero, bright eyed and full of life, was not used to this handling. At least, he hadn't been. Before they broke him, made it so that all he did was sleep. He wasn't even sure if there was anything left of his kitten now, if the "doctors" had stripped him of everything in their attempts to complete whatever experiment they wished to complete. His part in whatever experiments they were conducting was over. They hadn't come for him in what felt like weeks or even months, all their attention focused on his precious, broken, sleeping little kitten.

Gently, he tucked his kitten's head under his chin, wrapping his arms tight around him, burying his nose in his bright hair and refused to let go as the brutes appeared, their hands grabbing and tugging at his arms. They were all saying something, the "doctors" talking amongst themselves, waiting as the brutes tried to "encourage" him to let go of his little kitten. He would not give him up. Not this time. They could try all they liked, he would not let go! His kitten was his! Not their little plaything or specimen! He was his! A tightness appeared in his throat as the needle slid into his arm, his body soon going limp, the frail body of his little kitten being taken from him. He watched through damp eyes as they placed him on the gurney, the "doctors" swarming over him like vultures at a feast, wheeling him from the room, the door closing soundlessly behind them.

He lay in silence for a long moment, staring at that fucking door. He hated that door. He hated it with a passion. What he wouldn't give for even an ounce of his strength back, just enough so that he could launch a few fire balls to burn that fucking door down. Then he'd chase after those sick bastards, tearing through them and taking his kitten away from them. His chin wobbled, upper lip twitching as he continued to stare for a moment longer before he turned, resting his head in the opposite direction of that door, hiding his face from the cameras.

They would not get the satisfaction of seeing another little shard of his heart break off and fall into the oblivion below. The tears that pricked at the corners of his eyes were forcibly shoved back and into a heavy trunk where the tremors and screams could keep them company. He would not give them that satisfaction, oh no. The only satisfaction they would receive was when he was released from here and he granted them the satisfaction of a slow, painful death, the only kind of death they deserved. Oh yes, that is what they would receive. It was that comforting thought running through his mind, dragging up millions upon millions of ideas to kill each and every one of those "doctors" that lulled him into the sedative induced sleep.

~*~

Darkness greeted him when he awoke many hours later. He had never seen darkness in this room, the bright fluorescents always shining harshly down upon them. It made him worry. Darkness meant that something might have gone wrong with his kitten and that he may be sensitive to light. He might have been forgotten, Kitten's latest trials going well and he was discarded as useless. The power may have gone out to this block of the complex. Oh dear sweet Gaia, please let the power still be humming, the back generators would surely kick in soon for his kitten's monitors and support machines depended on that power! By sheer force of will, he pulled himself up into a sitting position, eyes quickly scanning the shadows for something, anything. His mind quickly concluded that he was alone in the room, his kitten's form missing from either of the beds. He didn't know if he should be happy or sad about that.

Gritting his teeth, he forced his body to move, forced his shaking legs to still and strengthen enough to hold him up without the wall to brace him as he took first one step, then another and another until he was moving easily across the floor, fingers reaching out and gripping the doorframe. Carefully, he ran his fingers along the door, looking for any weak points what so ever, any cracks that could help him tear the door open. The door was, of course, as smooth as ever and locked from the outside but he would not allow that to stop him. Snarling, he curled his fingers into a fist and drew his right arm back, counting to three mentally in his head before slamming his hand into the door. Once, twice, three times, the dent growing larger and larger as he pounded away at it. Four, five tries and the door bent enough such that he could grab the right side of it and force it open just enough so that his skinny frame could slip through.

The light in the hallway was pale, the emergency lights on the floor casting deep shadows along the walls and high ceiling. Well, that was one good thing, he guessed. This place did have a backup power supply which had indeed kicked in so his little kitten must be as safe as could be. Carefully, he moved down the center of the hallway, his bare feet not making a sound on the cold metal floor, the lights surely casting shadows on each side of his body as he moved. That was fine. The more intimidating he looked the better, that way if he came upon any scientists or brutes, they'd hesitate long enough for him to rip their bowls from their chests and shove them down their throats before they could even properly register what it was coming towards them. He allowed a chuckle to escape his throat and echo faintly in the hall at that lovely little morsel of a thought. He almost hoped he would run into someone, just so he could fulfill it.

Moving quickly and silently down the maze of corridors, he followed the familiar path to the central lab, the lights slowly growing brighter and brighter the closer he got. His movements slowed, his body crouching lower to the ground as he approached the open doorway, voices he didn't recognize echoing from the cavernous room into the hallway. Carefully, he moved through the doorway and quickly hid behind some hulking machine, the green glow of mako seen from the corner of his eye and perhaps casting a sickly shadow over his face. Perfect. People were indeed moving around the room, perhaps three quarters of them in military uniform while half of the others were clearly doctors, the others some type of researchers perhaps. Talking, shifting feet, typing keys and paranoia made up the atmosphere of the room, everyone casting glances to each corner in case something decided to jump out at them. The only thing that would be jumping out at them was him.

The shadows became his friends as he moved through them, each shift of his body carefully silent, his feet leading him around the room, eyes flickering to try and catch a glimpse of his kitten. A flash of silver caught his eye causing him to quickly tuck himself into the narrow spot between a bank of blank monitors and the wall. The silver, as he had suspected, was the same liquid curtain his dear old friend had had since he could remember, the river flowing down his back and moving in a glittering waterfall as he turned his head this way and that. It was very distracting. Shaking himself quickly, he looked around his friend, trying to see if his constant companion was glued to his hip like always. He was. The pair was standing with two medics bent over a gurney, the silver haired General's hands holding down a pair of legs, the medics checking over the rest of the body and the puppy's fingers combing through the thick blonde hair of his precious kitten.

Rage shot through him, an inferno growing in the pit of his stomach and racing like wild fire through his veins. His fingers twitched, itching to rip the insolent puppy's fingers from his kitten and shove them through his chest. His teeth groaned as he ground them together, the only part of his body that he allowed to move as he continued to watch the medics fuss over his kitten, the Silver General's hands tightening on the boy's legs as they began to shift and convulse. The medics began shouting orders, some rushing over to hold the boy down as the convulsions got worse and worse, his body nearly lifting from the table. He could hear the puppy's babbling rising over the shouts and the boy's thumping against the table. The rage in him began to glow brighter before finally he could take no more and he rushed forward, fingers curling around the puppy's wrist and yanking the hand from his kitten's hair, his own fingers burying themselves in the thick locks.

"You have exactly five seconds to get your filthy hands off of him before you'll be looking through a prosthetic catalog," he snarled. Surprise and shock rippled through the faces of those bent over his kitten, grips loosening with it, acid green eyes coming up to meet his own. Those eyes were as cool as ever, staring right back into his own, challenging him to let go or disappear as the figment he no doubt thought he was.

"That wasn't a suggestion," he snarled again, his other hand gripping his kitten's left bicep in preparation of pulling him off the table and away from them. Absently, he noticed that the convulsions had lessened and become more concentrated around his legs, almost as if his kitten were trying to kick the General's hands away. The air around him changed, a movement to the side of him catching his attention. Before the fist could meet with his jaw, he sent his own right hook at the puppy, catching him in the nose and sending him sprawling back on the floor, blood gushing from the broken feature. The medics, the fucking cowards, quickly took the message to heart, their hands releasing his kitten and quickly backing away, one going to the puppy's side in an attempt to heal him. The General, however, remained where he was, hands like vices around the boy's kicking legs, showing no signs of letting him go despite the act of violence.

"Genesis," he said, voice smooth and hinting a warning.

"I will speak with you only when you get your greasy hands off of him!" he returned, hands curling around both his kitten's arms. Cool green eyes seemed to regard him for a long moment, seemingly testing his resolve, before his fingers slowly loosened enough that he could pull his kitten away from him and move to the other side of the room, tucking into the space he had previously occupied, his now calm kitten curled protectively into his embrace. Weaving his fingers into the boy's hair, he watched those in the room, many of them still stunned, one of the cursing up a storm when the medic reset and cured his nose and the last watching him, the same impassiveness on his face.

"The bloody fuck?!" cried the puppy, jumping to his feet, wiping the blood from his face and glaring pure hatred at him.

"Let him go, you freak!"

"Take one step closer, puppy, and you will be meeting your precious mentor in the life stream sooner than you can blink,"

"Zack, stand down," The puppy paused, fingers curled around the hilt of the big sword on his back, eyes casting a quick confused glance at his General.

"Seph—"

"Stand. Down." He said, eyes not leaving Genesis and his charge. Reluctantly, the puppy uncurled his fingers and turned back to him, expression thoroughly displeased with his superior's order but following it anyway. With a snort, he turned his gaze away from them, tucking himself and his kitten further into the little space and combing his fingers through his hair, arm tightening around the boy's waist. His kitten let out a long breath, muscles relaxing and body sinking into his protective embrace, no doubt settling into sleep with his protector watching over him. He took comfort in that and the fact that he could see no bruises, cuts or burns on his kitten's pale flesh. Good. Burying his nose into the blonde spikes, he stroked a hand through the boy's hair, rage dissipating from his system as his gaze drifted across the room again, taking in the fact that it was just the medics, researchers and army personnel in the room.

His eyes caught the satisfying sight of a few corpses scattered about, the "doctors" apparently meeting with the life stream as green tendrils drifted up from their bodies, the forms slowly disintegrating into nothing more than a faint thought soon to be forgotten. That settled a little more of his rage, for the moment at least and he turned his gaze away from the disappearing bodies and to the pacing puppy and his old friend. He didn't know if they were going to be safe with these two and their little entourage, his fragile kitten especially but he didn't let the paranoia show in his expression, nor did he let its little fingers dig too deeply into him. With his kitten safely tucked in his arms, he figured that he could afford not to worry too much about them, for now at least.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but original characters and plot.

A/N: Yay! This chapter is finally done! It kept being mean to me but thankfully my lovely Koi and good friend Nene were able to help me with this one. Enjoy the chappy!

* * *

Chapter Two

"We're on course as scheduled," spoke the voice on the other end of the phone.

"I assume then that you've retrieved both of them?"

"Yes. They're settled in a room at the moment, both uninjured and as well as can be expected,"

"I see. Very well then, keep me informed,"

"Of course, Mr. President," With a nod that couldn't be seen, Rufus set the receiver in the cradle and made a half assed attempt at resisting the sudden and nearly overwhelming urge to slam his head repeatedly against the hard wooden top of his desk. Instead, he leaned back in his plush office chair, set his elbows on the arm rests and tried to ease the ache in his head by rubbing his fingers against his temples. Needless to say it wasn't working. Glancing up, his eyes fixed on the computer screen to the side and on the schedule that showed the airship's estimated arrival time. It hadn't changed and was still much too far away for his comfort.

If he was lucky, they would arrive before his scheduled meeting with Reeve Tuesti, thus forcing the scheduled meeting the next afternoon to the day after or preferably next week. Regardless of what good intentions he had or how kind hearted the man was, the fact that he could go on and on and on for hours on end about the opinions people had of the reforming ShinRa company and how to improve life in Midgar, the young president honestly wished that he'd shut up and run with whatever ideas he had so he'd stop bringing every little thing to him so the urge to shoot himself in the foot would stop growing. A chuckle sounded just behind him before someone leaned against the side of his desk, hands no doubt stuffed in his pockets and looking just as disheveled as ever.

"You know," he started, humor still evident in his voice. "If you want me to bash someone over the head, Boss, all you have to do is ask," Letting out a long, silent breath, Rufus turned to face his desk properly and filed the suggestion away for later contemplation.

"I'm aware of that, Reno," he said and reached for a stack of papers his secretary had set on his desk that morning. He saw Reno nod absently and didn't see the point in trying to make him stop leaning against his desk, knowing that he'd do it anyway. As he began to read over the papers, Reno shifted and moved to the side of the desk he was on, facing the windows at his back and glancing sideways at him.

"What'd tall, dark and psycho have to say?" he asked. Sighing again, Rufus shoved the papers away and went back to trying to massage his headache away.

"They're on schedule and should arrive by the estimated time,"

"Right, so in other words send word to the science and medical departments to be ready for two other psychos and make sure that third apartment on the General's floor is ready to be inhabited by tomorrow,"

"You're as perceptive as always, Reno,"

"I do try my best,"

_That's a shock_, Rufus thought, casting a sideways glance at the redhead before picking up the papers again, leaning back in his seat as he let his eyes scan over them, quickly taking in the information and trying to determine how important it was. The two remained silent, Reno leaning against his desk and staring out the window with his usual smirk in place as Rufus worked at trying to finish up the last bit of paper work before his secretary decided to come in with more.

"Any word?" he said quietly as he signed off on another report.

"Hm, well, a little birdie did tell me that a certain vulture was spotted up near the ruins but unfortunately the little birdie lost sight of it the deeper it went,"

"I see,"

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, sir," said the red head with a chuckle, pushing off from the desk. "Vultures never last very long. Coffee?"

"Please," Nodding, Reno stepped away from the desk, scooping up the completed papers as he walked out of the room, door shutting quietly behind him. Again, Rufus let a heavy sigh escape him. Though the news had been what he'd expected, he still wished that it had been different.

~*~

Gaia had apparently been listening to him, at least partially. As he listened with half an ear to Tuesti's rambling updates, a knock sounded on the conference room door a moment before it opened, the dark haired leader of the Turks stepping into the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Margaret Rosen, head of the science department, and Dominique Geris, head of public relations, immediately straighten, eyes glued to the blank faced Turk but betraying none of the nervousness they surely felt. Reeve Tuesti, used to the man's presence, offered him a polite nod in greeting, setting the paper he was reading from on the table. Tseng returned it absently, gaze sweeping the room before landing on the president.

"Estimated ETA is fifteen minutes, sir," he said. Rufus nodded and stood, resisting the smug smile that tried to flit across his face.

"Thank you, Tseng. If you all will excuse me, I am afraid that the meeting shall have to be postponed for now. Please go ahead with what we have discussed. Mr. Geris,"

"I'll be sure to inform Holland that you expect a report on the negotiations with Wutai by tomorrow evening,"

"Thank you. Ms. Rosen,"

"Both the science and medical departments are prepared, Sir,"

"Thank you. Mr. Tuesti, please go ahead with what you have discussed so far and we shall talk about the rest later," _Preferably next year_. With a final nod to the assembled department heads, Rufus gather his papers neatly and followed Tseng out the door, handing the papers off to his waiting secretary. Tseng led him to the row of elevators at the end of the hallway and pressed the button for his private elevator, stepping aside for Rufus before following.

"What's the current status?" he asked once the doors had closed.

"No injuries or damage to the ship," Tseng began, shoulders square and back ramrod straight as always. "No attacks, by enemies or the two recovered from the lab. Reno, Rude and Elena are waiting in the hanger. Along with a team of medics, a troop of twelve soldiers ranging from First to Third class are also waiting in the hanger,"

"Hm. Eager to greet their General no doubt,"

"And to see if the rumors of the deserter being alive are true,"

"That, too," The elevator let out a soft ding as it stopped at the correct floor, the pair stepping out once the doors had opened. He gave half hearted greetings to those that spoke to him, most moving out of the way as he and his body guard moved down the hall and across the long glass enclosed bridge that connected the main building to the newly dubbed SOLDIER building, the office and science staff slowly filtering into the military personnel of cadets, regular army and SOLDIERs. Tseng moved just a little bit closer to him, his presence growing stronger the deeper they moved into the building. Most gave him respectful nods and greetings, moving out of the way, cadets scurrying and keeping their eyes averted. Another elevator ride and they were on the bottom floor, moving to the back entrance and the waiting jeep which would take them to the small airfield about seven minutes away.

"Report came in a minute ago, Sir," their driver said. "They should be just touching down when we get there,"

"Anything else?"

"None, Sir," Nodding, Rufus settled back in his seat and watched as the practice fields and other smaller buildings sped past them in a blur. He could hear the rumble of the airship's engines over the jeep, the large ship passing over their heads as it descended into the airfield ahead. It appeared that their driver's assumption was right. As they passed through the open gate and slowed to a stop near the designated landing site, the ship was just setting down, a high wind blowing due to the engines. Rufus waited until the wind abated, the ship settled firmly on the ground and the engines slowing to a stop before he stepped out of the jeep, walking past the medical team and assembled SOLDIERs, stopping a few feet from the lowering ramp.

He saw his Turks stationed nearby, each glancing at the ramp and waiting whatever form of chaos might emerge from the gleaming hull of the ship. After a few moments, they got their answer. A glint of silver and the sound of boot heels clicking together as SOLDIERs saluted preceded the appearance of the great General Sephiroth and his entourage. The general, impassive as always, looked as if he had just come from a meeting of some sort instead of a recovery mission while his Second in Command, Zack Fair, looked about ready to go traipsing off into the woods on a monster killing spree. He kept glancing over his shoulder, scowl deepening every time he did so which caused Rufus's own gaze to move up to the empty doorway at the top of the ramp. A doorway which didn't remain empty for very long.

Rufus recalled the pictures and brief glimpses he had of Genesis Rhapsodos and ran a quick comparison. Still tall, same red hair, red brown eyes lacking the mocking humor he recalled, face set in a stern, watchful expression, posture tense instead of flowing with the grace he had once heard of and the air of arrogance and lazy mockery was absent, extreme caution and paranoia taking its place. Sharp eyes took in the surrounding area and personnel, no doubt writing off the presence of the SOLDIERs and perhaps becoming a bit more wary of the Turks though it seemed that it was the medical and science teams that caused him the most worry. Perhaps in some show that he wasn't afraid of them, or as a warning, Genesis straightened and raised his chin, holding the little blonde closer. It was slightly amusing though also disconcerting. He didn't allow himself to think too long on the man before he turned his attention to the waiting General.

"It seems everything went well, General," he said in way of greeting as the silver haired man stepped off the ramp. There was no change in his expression as he stopped a handful of feet away, nodding to his SOLDIERs before that cat-like gaze settled on him.

"As well as can be expected, Mr. President," he answered. Nodding, he glanced at the former general and his unconscious friend before motioning to the medical team.

"The science department shall take the data you've recovered while the medical team will take Mr. Rhapsodos and Strife to the medical ward to be checked out. We'll arrange for the debriefing to be in the next couple of days,"

"That sounds fine; however, I believe it would be best if Genesis and Cloud were settled into their rooms for now. The medical team is not necessary," Sephiroth said, motioning to the slowly tensing man behind him who was watching the approaching team like a behemoth about to strike. Thankfully, the lead doctor seemed to recognize the growing tension and stopped the team where it was before coming forward himself, a disarming smile on his face which he turned to Zack.

"I'll take the data, Mr. Fair," he said.

"Warning, it's heavy," Zack said as he handed over the large case, making sure that the doctor had a firm hold of it before letting go. The doctor let out a breath of surprise, arms straining under the sudden weight that hadn't seemed like much in the SOLDIER's hands.

"You got it?"

"Y-yes, I've got it. We'll begin the analysis immediately," Rude took that as his cue and followed the doctor back to the waiting team, helping him set the case on the gurney and accompanying them back to head quarters, Reno catching up at Tseng's dismissal. Rufus watched them for a moment before turning and heading towards the waiting jeeps, Sephiroth and company following.

"The rooms have been prepared correct?" asked the General, stepping up to walk at his left.

"Everything's been prepared as you requested," A derisive snort sounded behind him.

"A padded cell and an observation room, how kind of you,"

"Actually it's the third apartment on the top floor of the staff apartment building,"

"One door down from you, old friend? Does the puppy live on that floor as well?"

"I'll leave you to showing them to their quarters, General,"

"Of course. Inform me when the debriefing is scheduled and when the science team has finished their analysis,"

"Plan on the end of the week or early next. I'll leave you to your duties, General," With that, Rufus slipped into the front seat of the jeep, Tseng and Elena getting into the back. The second group followed suit, Sephiroth pausing a moment to dismiss the still watching SOLDIERs before both jeeps headed back to the complex, one going back to the main building and the other splitting off to head for the staff quarters. As Rufus watched the other jeep drive in the other direction, he couldn't help but wonder who was actually in charge. To him, it seemed as if he was the subordinate answering to Sephiroth instead of the other way around. It was a little aggravating if he was honest. The subtle intimidation and bargaining were grating to him yet he knew that it was necessary if he wanted to keep the General happy. Well, as happy as he could be at the moment.

"I'm sure Sephiroth will calm down a little now, Sir," said Elena from the back, no doubt sensing his line of thought.

"I doubt it Elena," he said. "But thank you,"

"Anytime, Sir," Yes, perhaps with his friend returned to him and his lover soon to be healthy again the man would calm and allow himself to focus on more relevant and highly urgent matters.

"Don't worry about it too much," Tseng spoke up. "The fact that we've lost the vulture will surely draw his mind to more significant issues," Rufus sighed. _One can only hope_.

* * *

A/N: Tell me what you think! :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yays! Third chapter! I'm working on the fourth so that should be up soon... I hope. And when that one goes up, the rating will go up because of Reno's explosive temper. Anyway, thank you all for reading and I'm so happy that it's liked so far! Please tell me what you think and any ideas you have of what should happen. I shall listen. Thank you very much for reading and please enjoy the chapter! And thank you Nene-chan and Koi for helping me!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

Chapter Three

Hardly a damn thing had changed. The entrance was still tastefully done in crisp white, black and a smattering of blue here and there, an attempt to no doubt relieve the stress of the staff as they entered the building. As per usual at this time of day, the entrance was empty, all the elevators on the ground floor and waiting for use, annoying "soothing" music playing softly in the background. The decor hardly changed as he stepped into the large elevator though the music shifted to a very poor attempt at some jazzy tune that made him want to rip the damn speakers out. After a moment, the doors slid silently shut and the elevator began making its slow way up to the top floor of the building. To stave off his growing anxiety, he held the small form of his sleeping kitten tighter, gaze drifting around the small cubicle before looking down at the boy.

He looked peaceful for once, cradled safely in his arms, breathing slowly, eyes closed. Peacefully oblivious, trusting him, the same as always. Genesis ran his eyes over the face he'd memorized and instead of worrying what he'd look like in the "doctors'" clutches, what harm they would be heaving upon his frail body and mind, he tried to imagine him smiling. It was semi difficult to do though the softer lights in the elevator helped a little, making the boy's skin seem less pale and thin than the harsh fluorescents had. And his eyes, though still blank and lifeless, seemed to hold a vague spark of returning life to them. Or perhaps that was just wishful thinking on his part.

"Are his eyes open?" Genesis repressed the urge to snarl as the puppy leaned closer, bright eyes staring at the sleeping blonde.

"Don't get your hopes up," he said. "It's just a muscle response," The puppy ignored him and carefully touched his fingers to a cool cheek.

"Hey, Spiky, can you hear me?"

"He's in a coma you idiot,"

"Yeah and it's said that if you talk to someone who's in a coma then there's a better chance that they'll wake up," Genesis did snarl at that but allowed Fair to thread his fingers through his kitten's hair, murmuring softly to him. Glancing up, he saw Sephiroth watching, eyes tracing over the boy's face and no doubt trying to determine if the half opened eyes truly held any form of consciousness. A soft ding sounded moments before the elevator doors slid open, admitting them into a wide, empty hall way. Fair reluctantly unwound his fingers and stepped out of the elevator, Genesis following and both trailing behind Sephiroth as they were led to the apartment next to the General's. Quick fingers entered the door code, turning the knob and admitting them into the large apartment. It was nice, if a little plain, the wall all painted the same cream color as the hallway outside, but he wouldn't comment as it was much, much better than the small cabin and horrific observation room he had previously inhabited.

The living room opened up before him and to his left, the kitchen on his right and separated by a counter with three bar stools in front of it. A short hallway led to the bathroom and two bedrooms, the largest of which held a large, soft looking bed with turned down sheets and a thick comforter. Fair, for once, didn't speak as he pulled back the covers enough so that Genesis could slip Cloud between them and tuck him in, blonde head sinking into the soft pillows a little. Seemingly sensing the comfortable bed and clean sheets, his eyes slowly closed, body sinking a little deeper into the bed on a long exhale. Perhaps now he could actually sleep. He watched him for a long moment, noting happily that the minute creases in his brow that never eased finally melted away, his face actually mimicking the peacefulness that such deep sleep implied.

"How long has he been like this?" Fair asked voice low as he watched the sleeping boy from the foot of the bed. A mirthless chuckle escaped him.

"I forgot. The days bled into each other so much that I forgot,"

"Hm," the puppy straightened, a faint smile curling his lips even as his eyes remained hard and worried. "He'll wake up soon,"

"So you think,"

"So I know. Much as Spiky loves lying around, he hates it when he sleeps too much," Genesis nodded thoughtfully before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I see. You two can leave now," Fair frowned at him but acquiesced, stepping away from the bed and over to the open doorway.

"There are some clothes for the both of you in the dresser," Sephiroth said and set something on the night stand. "Speed dial one is me, two is Zack and three is Tseng," Genesis looked at the slim black phone on the table and could hardly resist the small smile spreading across his face.

"I'll call if I need anything, my friend,"

"Or if anything changes," Zack added. After a moment he nodded.

"Or if anything changes," Sephiroth stood and briefly hesitating, placed a hand on Genesis's shoulder, squeezing slightly, drawing his attention away from the boy. Green eyes stared down at him, silver bangs glittering in the sun from the window. Staring into those eyes Genesis was struck with something he had forgotten long ago. No matter what anyone said, though hard to read at first, Sephiroth's eyes were possibly the most expressive thing about him, able to communicate whole messages if one were to look properly. It was with that in mind that he didn't immediately shrug off the faintly concerned gaze and instead read deeper into it.

"We will be fine, my friend," he whispered. Giving his shoulder another faint squeeze, Sephiroth allowed his hand to slip from its perch as he turned and strode back to the doorway, glancing just once through the fall of his hair to the blonde tucked safely in the plush bed.

"We'll bring dinner over later," the puppy said, leaning through the doorway. Rolling his eyes Genesis waved a hand at him.

"If you must,"

"Of course, otherwise you'd starve,"

"Let's go, Zack," Sephiroth said before Genesis could fire back a retort. He listened to them leave, counting their steps as they traversed the hall and living room, pausing by the door before stepping out, the door swishing shut behind them. He waited until he was sure they were gone, holding his breath until he couldn't hear their foot falls anymore before he slumped forward, resting his head on the bed. The confidence he had held before bled out of him like a dam being released, leaving him weak and shaking. It had thankfully held up during the long air ship ride though he had a feeling that the lingering rage and warning bells going off in his head had something to do with that. Now though, in the silence of new surroundings, with his kitten safely tucked in an actual bed and the threat of those monsters coming for him again removed, he allowed the confidence and rage to slip away from him, replaced with new fear and paranoia.

Though he had once known this place as he had once known his beloved Loveless, everything now was a mystery to him. Faces had changed, powers had shifted, hell, the very air had changed. He did not let himself be deceived by the proposed safety of this place. Never again. Not with "scientists" and "doctors" infesting almost every part of the complex. He and his kitten would never be safe with them around. Never. Reaching out a shaking hand, he ran his fingers gently through soft spikes, hoping that the action would soothe some of the anxiety building up in his throat, begging for release. Instead of giving into the urge to scream and possibly break something, he laid himself next to the sleeping blonde, toeing off his shoes and continuing to stroke through the soft hair, watching the late afternoon sunlight play across the delicate face. A face he wished with all his heart to see bright with a smile or laughter, no hint of the darkness he knew would be there when the boy regained his senses.

"Cloud," he whispered, turning the face toward his own. His eyes swept over the familiar features, fingers carefully tracing over the delicate cheekbones and nose, sweeping down the smooth jaw and up again to dance around his eyes.

"Cloud," he whispered again, voice shaking. "Cloud, kitten, please, please wake up soon,"

~*~

They were silent as they walked the short distance to Sephiroth's apartment, kicking off their heavy boots in the tiled entryway and settling on the plush couch. It remained that way for a long moment, both staring into space before Sephiroth got up and went into the large kitchen, coming back and tossing him a chilled bottle of water. Zack caught it and remained seated on the couch, twisting off the cap and taking a swig as Sephiroth remained leaning against the dividing counter. He knew, even without looking at the man, that they both wished the plastic bottle and water were instead a glass bottle holding sweet, mind numbing alcohol.

"So," Zack started after staring into space for about five minutes. "When do you think the science nerds are going finish with that data?"

"It depends on how long it takes for them to decode it and gather enough for an initial report,"

"So, about a week then?"

"Perhaps," Zack just shook his head and finished off his water, tossing the bottle back to Sephiroth who tossed it into the recycle bin.

"I'm gonna go check on Aerith," he said, making his way to the door and tugging his boots back on.

"Tell her I said 'Hello',"

"Will do," Bouncing up when he finished with his boots, Zack's hand hovered over the door knob. Biting his lip in a sudden bout of nervousness, he turned and caught Sephiroth's gaze.

"Cloud," he said softly, forcing a smile on his face. "Cloud's gonna be fine, Seph," Sephiroth stared at him, water bottle hanging loosely from his fingers.

"Cloud's strong. He's gonna be perfectly fine and bouncing around like a baby chocobo on crack in no time. Hell, you may even get to pin him again since he'll be so hyper!" He got a ghost of a smile at that.

"While I doubt the nature of his condition upon his regaining consciousness will allow for such activities, the imagery is greatly appreciated,"

"Humph. He'll be just fine, Seph, you'll see,"

"I know, Zack. Go see your girlfriend," Zack gave a mock salute and stepped out of the apartment, door shutting quietly behind him. Sephiroth waited until he couldn't hear his boot steps in the hall before he set the half empty water bottle on the counter and walked over to the end table nearest him, picking up the lone picture frame there. Carefully, he traced the framed image with his eyes, comparing the two blondes he knew. The one before him outshone the other by far and he could only hope that that would be the case in real life, that the sleeping blonde would somehow transform into the one he knew and he'd be able to gather him close again and protect him, hide him away in some place cozy and warm that only a select few would know about. It was a strange thing for him, hope, but he found, that at this point, with this situation, it was all he could do. For the moment anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Whee!! Warning! Reno's got a bit of a potty mouth! And when I mean a bit I mean it's explosive and to me it's kind of funny. Anyway, this chapter is unbeated because I wanted to post it and get to the next one but when it does get betaed then I'll repost it with the changes. Anyway! Enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: Don't own it!

* * *

Chapter 4

He was going to have nightmares. Dark, screaming, nauseating, vivid nightmares for the next month. Wait. No. Wrong estimate. The next six months at least. It was a good thing he and the rest of the Turks could operate on so little sleep; most having mastered the art of the deep, four hour nap as five or more hours was a rarity. Rubbing his hands over his eyes, he winced as he heard some other clod start up another video file and resisted the urge to turn around and beat him over the head with his keyboard. Such violent tendencies were more suited to Reno or one of the other more aggressive or rookie Turks but at this point, as he listened to the "doctor" calmly stating his observations out loud over the agonized screams of his victim he felt that these tendencies were allowed. He'd wait for a few more seconds and if the file didn't—oh that was better. Blessed silence once again filled the massive computer lab, the hum of machines and typing taking over once more as the computer techs worked, medical and science staff checking over the data and making notes.

Contrary to popular belief, the science department didn't contain people that were only interested in mako and alternative energy sources. It also comprised a section dedicated to advanced technology and computers. It was thanks to this that just hours after getting their eager little hands on the data brought back from the northern lab that the encryption had been broken and they were slowly gaining access to the hundreds of files contained on the numerous compact hard drives. Granted it had taken about three of the five super computers nearly a full forty eight hours to break the encryption code but still. At least they had access to the data though now, he was wishing that the "doctor" hadn't decided to document every last experiment on video. To quote Elena, "Honestly, couldn't the sicko just have made hand written notes like the others?"

"Tseng?" someone asked behind him, interrupting his musings. Turning, he spotted one of the techs holding a piece of paper out to him. "We think we've found the scientist's name," Quirking an eyebrow, he took the paper and looked it over, choosing not to bat Reno away as the red head draped himself over the back of his chair.

"Who the fuck is Marvin Joshua Langley?" The redhead said after a minute of scrutinizing the paper's small print.

"The scientist behind all of this, or so we believe," answered the tech, sounding a bit excited at finding the little tidbit.

"Do you have any proof to back this up?" Tseng began a mental countdown in his head as the other Turk leaned a little closer to the paper.

"We should shortly. One of the other technicians is currently working on the first file of the 'Eyes of Gaia' project."

10….9….8….

"How long until it's decoded?"

7….6….5….

"I've got the first thirty seconds decoded!" shouted one of the techs before the one in front of him could answer. The typing in the room stilled as a video opened on the main screen in the room. After five seconds of blank screen, a man with slicked back brown hair, pale skin and over eager grey eyes appeared, looking directly into the camera. At some silent signal, he squared his shoulders and tried not to look like a puppy waiting to pounce on a new toy.

4….3….2….

"This is Marvin Joshua Langley," the man started, voice commonplace and most likely, soon to be one of the featured voices in his newest string of nightly terrors.

"In a few moments we shall begin The Eyes of Gaia project, a project which, once completed, shall bring back those in the life stream to be with their loved ones."

1….0…. As the video feed stopped, Tseng moved his head further away from the tense Turk behind him and waited for it.

"Marvin. Joshua. Langley?" said Reno very slowly, green eyes fixed on the screen and frozen video.

"Marvin. Joshua. Langley."

"Yes, Reno. We've established that." Reno paused for about three seconds before snapping upright, stomping over to the main screen and running a critical eye over the man. _Here it comes_.

"What the fuck kind of name is Marvin Joshua Lang—I used to beat the shit out of kids with names like that! I mean what the hell man?! What the hell kind of name is that for an evil scientist?! Hojo, Hollander, fucking Frankenstein are better names than that! That hair is probably only slicked back because he doesn't know what the word shower fucking means and he's probably only five foot nothing, fatter than a bloated behemoth and wears thick ass glasses! Marvin fucking Joshua Langley is the name of a fucking accountant not an evil fucking scientist who thinks it's the best idea in the world to kidnap and torture people!" Tseng waited a few moments, watching the panting man as he finished his rant.

"Are you finished?"

"For now."

"Good. Go cool off and send Rude in."

"Gladly." Reno cracked his knuckles and stalked to the entrance, muttering as he went. "Marvin fucking Langley. You've got to be fucking shitting me." Tseng waited until the door had opened and closed, Rude stepping in and taking up a post behind his chair, waiting to be filled in. Tseng handed the paper back to the slightly stunned technician.

"Ignore him. Let me know what else you find."

"U-um… y-yes, sir. Will do." The technician wandered back over to his previous position while Tseng turned back to his own computer station, Rude sitting next to him.

"We've found out the doctor's name and his appearance," he said shortly. Rude nodded and turned to the abandoned computer Reno had been using and began typing away, reading over notes and making his own. As Tseng began going through files again, he couldn't help but agree with Reno's assessment. Marvin Joshua Langley did sound more like a straight laced businessman's or accountant's name rather than an evil scientist.

_Dear sweet Gaia_, he thought, fingers stilling over the keyboard. _I just agreed with Reno_. After a moment he shook it off, telling himself that instead of wanting to shoot himself in the foot for that, he'd instead break out the bottle of Mengoran he had stashed away in his apartment for stressful occasions such as these. He had a feeling that, other than agreeing with Reno and the additions to his nightmare collection, something else would cause him to need that drink when he got home.

~*~

Genesis was already awake that morning, sitting next to Cloud with a book open in his hands, when Sephiroth and Zack showed up, Zack most likely going into the kitchen to start on breakfast. They both probably assumed he was asleep still as neither of them wandered down the hall to the bedroom to check on them but it could have also been that they seemed to have brought a guest with them. A rather irate guest from the sound of it. Curiosity piqued, he set his book aside, placed a gentle kiss on Cloud's forehead and headed towards the front room. His eyebrows nearly shot up to his hairline as a burst of rather colorful expletives exploded from their guest.

"Yes, Reno," Zack said from the kitchen as Genesis stopped at the entrance to the living room. "It's the name of an accountant, not an evil scientist, we get it."

"Who the fuck gives that kind of name to their kid these days? Don't they know he's gonna get the shit kicked out of him for life because of it?" Ah. Now it made sense. Shaking his head, he stepped into the room, drawing the attention of Sephiroth as Reno continued to grumble to himself.

"I assume then," he started. "That you've found out the good doctor's name?"

"He's not a fucking doctor! He's some little worm down in accounting!"

"I'm inclined to agree."

"Please don't encourage him."

"I'm not. I'm simply agreeing with a true statement." Zack shook his head and went back to whatever he was cooking.

"Now, why exactly is a Turk here and not glued to the vice-president's side?"

"Relieving Cissnei. And Rufus is the president, not vice-president, yo."

"Until his father comes back." Reno leaned back in the armchair as Genesis sat down on the couch.

"Rupert Shinra is dead," That time his eyebrows did reach his hair line. Turning, he looked over to his silver haired friend who was seated in another arm chair and if his guess was right, he looked a little too pleased about the apparently dead Shinra.

"I assume you had a hand in, my friend?"

"He's the one that did it, yo."

"Oh really? And what caused that little act of violence?" Sephiroth remained quiet, the smug look slipping off his face as quickly as it had appeared.

"The former president knew about Hollander and Hojo's experiments. Was even funding them," Zack said from the kitchen, not looking up from the eggs he was beating. Genesis snorted and leaned against the arm rest, flicking his bangs from his face.

"You knew," Sephiroth said mako green eyes boring into him.

"I found out shortly after the good doctor took me into his custody and I assure you, my friend, that communication with the outside world at that point was a very difficult thing to achieve." Sephiroth sighed and waved a hand in the air as though to wave off the topic.

"How is Cloud?" he asked.

"Resting comfortably now that he's in a proper bed."

"So he'd be well enough that two of us could take over watching him during the meeting tomorrow?" Genesis paused and slowly looked away from Sephiroth and towards the redhead in the arm chair next to him. Reno looked completely relaxed as he sat there, bored expression on his face which only made the protective feeling inside Genesis rise further.

"Excuse me?" he asked softly, eyes narrowed.

"Rufus would like to hold the debriefing and update tomorrow at one if that suits you," Sephiroth said, watching Genesis carefully.

"Cloud will be safe, Genesis." At that, Genesis let out a derisive snort and stood.

"Safe? He'll be safe? Around them?" he said, letting out a humorless chuckle. "No, if the 'president' wishes to speak with me about something then he can come here and do it. I will not step foot in that building unless it is a burning mass of rubble."

"Genesis--" Genesis snarled and glared at Sephiroth, upset that his friend would suggest leaving Cloud with Turks when he knew what Turks were capable of and what they answered to.

"No! You may trust them, Sephiroth, but I will not give them that! The last time I trusted anyone from ShinRa it caused me so much pain that there still is no end in sight! I have trusted you this far but I will NOT allow anyone near MY Cloud! I will not allow him to be hurt again and I will not let Turks lay their grubby little hands on him; and I know they will because their curiosity is always niggling away at them and they always give in to it! The 'president' can haul his pampered, worthless Shinra ass down here if he needs to talk to me so badly instead of expecting me to leap up and come running like some fucking mutt at his every command!" With that Genesis turned on his heel and stormed down the hall, slamming the door shut and nearly snapping the lock as he shoved it into place. The living room remained silent for a long moment before Reno sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"That went well," he grumbled, receiving a noncommittal response from the silver haired man.

"'Bout as well as could be expected," Zack said, finishing up the eggs. "Eggs before you go meet with the pampered Shinra?"

"Coffee would be nice, too." Reno stood and wandered into the kitchen. Sephiroth remained in the living room for a long moment, staring down the hallway at the closed bedroom door. He of course agreed with Genesis. While he trusted Rufus Shinra to a point, that trust did not include leaving Cloud with only the Turks for company, even if the Turks said they wouldn't touch him. Turks could hardly be trusted in the past and it hadn't changed one bit now.

"Hey, Seph, come and eat," Zack called from the kitchen. Reluctantly, Sephiroth pulled his gaze away from the closed bedroom door and walked over to the counter where Reno already sat, nearly inhaling his food. He forced himself not to wince at the Turk or the amount of food on his plate, settling on a stool and taking a few tentative bites under Zack's watchful gaze. After a moment, Zack nodded and fixed his own plate, leaning against the counter as he ate and idly chatting with Reno. He didn't miss the halted glances towards the hallway and secretly agreed with his friend's obvious desire.

_I know_, he thought. _I want to be in there with him too_. And while Sephiroth worried for his friend and lover, Zack allowed himself to set aside his worry for Cloud for the moment and focused on Sephiroth, knowing that the man needed to be watched over as well. He just wished he was as attentive with Sephiroth as Genesis was with Cloud.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: And here the new one! Thank you, Koi and Nene, for betaing! Please tell me what you think guys, even if it's to yell at me because I have a feeling someone is going to. And thank you all very much for your support and kind words. They make me super happy! Though I will be happy with any commentary you feel like giving. Anyway, please enjoy and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Chapter 5

To be honest, when the knock came on the bedroom door the next afternoon stirring Genesis from his dozing, he had not expected the young woman on the other side, dressed in a Turk suit, to tell him that the President was waiting in the front room for him. He stared at her for a long moment before shutting the door and turning back to his sleeping kitten. Carefully, he leaned over and brushed his bangs from his forehead, placing a light kiss there and stroking his cheek.

"I'll be in the front room, kitten, if you need me," he whispered. He ran his fingers quickly through his hair and changed his shirt before walking out of the bedroom and down the short hallway to the front room. Apparently the woman had been right. Rufus Shinra sat in one of the plush armchairs, fingers laced together in his lap and one leg crossed over the other, seemingly carefree. Zack and Sephiroth stood nearby, Zack leaning over the back of the couch as he tried to read something over Tseng's shoulder and Sephiroth leaning against the island counter with his arms crossed. Reno was lounging in the other armchair while Rude stood behind Rufus. Summoning his usual smirk, Genesis stepped into the room and caught Rufus's eye.

"Why, Mr. President," he said. "To what do I owe this tremendous honor?"

"No need for sarcasm, Mr. Rhapsodos," Rufus said, motioning for Genesis to take a seat and ignoring when he merely crossed his arms and remained standing.

"I'm merely here so we can get the debriefing done and if possible, any information that you may have on Doctor Langley."

"I highly doubt that I could give you much on the good doctor as much of my interactions with him were not of the social nature."

"Any information would be welcome."

"I'll see what I can do." Rufus nodded and turned to Sephiroth.

"What happened?" he started, getting right to the point. Genesis wandered into the kitchen as Sephiroth began describing the large lab, retrieving a bottle of water from the fridge and leaning his elbows against the counter to watch the occupants of the other room as they talked.

"The frontal team entered at 2330 creating a distraction which drew most of the guards to the front entrance. Fifteen minutes later, the next team went in and cleared the path from the dormitories to the lab. There, we broke through the entrance yet most of the doctors had fled by that time. Some did put up resistance and were struck down. Langley was nowhere in the vicinity of the lab. The computers had not been tampered with as far as we could tell and once the area was secure and the resistance at the front gate had been neutralized, the final team was called in to begin gathering any data possible and check for survivors." Genesis was mildly impressed that Sephiroth could say all that with a straight face but then again, this was Sephiroth.

"And did you find any survivors?"

"One. Cloud Strife. A cadet of the SOLDIER program who went missing during a mission in Nibelheim five years ago. He was found in a large tank of mako, seemingly unconscious. After he was pulled out of the mako, the medical team laid him on a nearby gurney where they then began to check him over. When an IV was retrieved from their kit to be placed in Strife's arm, Strife began to convulse on the gurney. It took two medics and myself to hold him down while Fair held his head still and tried to calm him. Perhaps five minutes later is when Genesis Rhapsodos, believed to be deceased, appeared and calmed Strife."

"Was there anyone else alive? Doctors, assistants, technicians?"

"No."

"Were there any others there?"

"There were some in holding cells. Each one was checked and pronounced dead." Genesis stilled before beginning to pick at the label of the water bottle, brow furrowing.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Sephiroth glanced over to him and nodded.

"They were checked and found to have no pulse. Also, they were not breathing nor did they respond to any outside stimulus."

"How many were there?" Genesis shot the president an irritated look while Sephiroth looked over to Zack for the answer.

"Kunsel said there were about eleven total. They were able to unlock the doors and checked them all. The final conclusion was that they were all dead. When they confirmed that, they met up with us as the techs were finishing up gathering the data and shortly afterwards, we left." The others seemed satisfied with this, moving on to the rest of the questions while a thick wave of panic crashed over Genesis. They unlocked the doors? Unlocked them? Left them open? Even though they had bombed the place that didn't mean that the rest were all dead! Dear sweet Gaia didn't they know not to trust something just by the looks of it?!

"Genesis? What's wrong?" Startled from his panicked musings, Genesis looked up and met Zack's gaze from across the room. It took him a moment to find his voice but when he did, he tried to hide the rising panic though he had a feeling it wasn't hidden well if the puppy had picked up on it.

"You unlocked the doors to the holding cells?" he asked, miraculously keeping his voice from shaking.

"Yeah…"

"All of them?"

"Yeah. They were all dead. The medic with Kunsel's team checked each of them twice and he said they were—"

"They were not dead, you idiot!" He shouted and chucked the crumpled bottle at Zack's head. Zack barely had enough time to dodge, ducking quickly and letting the bottle crash into the bookshelf a few feet away. The Turks were on guard in an instant, Sephiroth pushing off the counter and waiting to see just how far Genesis's unexpected rage would go.

"What the hell?!"

"They were not dead! Some of them perhaps but not all of them! Don't you know that everything's not what it seems to be you ignorant backwater fuck?!"

"Genesis, calm down," Sephiroth said, taking a step towards the irate man in an attempt to calm him.

"They left the damn doors unlocked! Doors to cells holding previous test subjects of a sick degenerate and didn't think that they could possibly be alive! You should know better than that!"

"They were all dead! D. E. A. D. Dead! Kunsel said the medics gave them something to make sure of it! Hell! Two of the doors were already open anyway!"

"What?" Genesis's hands stilled as they raked through his hair, fingers twisting in the strands as he tensed. Zack nodded carefully, hands held up in a placating manner to dissuade any further acts of violence.

"Yeah. One of the cell doors was already ripped open and another that looked more suited for two people was also forced open," he said. "The two person one was yours and Cloud's wasn't it?" Genesis nodded slowly and unwound his fingers from his hair.

"One of the other doors had already been forced open?"

"Yeah. Looked like some kind of animal or something had clawed its way out."

"Fuck!" He hadn't wanted to hear that.

"What's going on, Rhapsodos?" asked Rufus, watching as Genesis began to pace across the top part of the living room. Genesis didn't seem to hear him as he began to chew on his thumbnail, scenarios beginning to run through his head. The good doctor, he knew, was still alive. It didn't need to be said but he knew it in his gut that that bastard was still alive. Hojo was probably still around somewhere as well, lurking in the shadows and watching with beady little eyes, waiting for his opportunity to pounce again. What had him worried was the third thing he knew now was still alive. He and Cloud were not the first of the good doctor's subjects but one of many, most of which were left to rot in their cells and probably had.

However, once the experiments on him had begun, he'd been pitted against a few of the doctor's former subjects in a test of strength and to see how strong his will to live was. Both were obviously high in the beginning, growing with each "enhancement" the doctor saw fit to bestow him with yet there was one that had given him quite a degree of trouble. When faced with that particular subject their strengths had been matched. Speed, strength, agility, stamina, will, thinking, everything had come out even between them. The only difference had been that Genesis had fought for survival and the chance to get stronger and away from these "doctors" and their tests while his opponent and fellow subject had fought because it was fun. Apparently, the good doctor had seen fit to up this subject's lust for blood in addition to everything else. And if the other subject had broken from its cell as he had…. Genesis shook the thought from his head and leaned against the wall next to the large window.

"Genesis," Sephiroth called, standing a few feet away. He waited until Genesis looked up at him, still chewing on his nails and highly agitated. It took a lot to get him agitated enough to start chewing on his nails and because of that, it had been a long time since he had seen his friend in this state. He kept his voice as neutral as possible when he was sure he had the man's attention.

"What escaped from that cell?" Genesis remained silent for another moment or two before forcing himself to calm down, drawing his hand away from his mouth and crossing his arms over his stomach.

"One of the other subjects. One of the more dangerous ones got out," he said. Sephiroth frowned, quickly holding up a hand to forestall anything anyone wanted to say.

"And why is this one so dangerous?" he asked. Genesis narrowed his eyes, straightening from the wall.

"Have you ever seen a Cuahl overloaded with mako, injected with numerous 'enhancements', tortured, driven insane, starved for two or three years and then released upon the masses? No? That's why it's so dangerous."

"What is it exactly?" Rufus asked, sitting a little more forward in his chair. Genesis snorted and flicked a bit of hair out of his face.

"Well, I would call it human yet it lacks quite a few necessary qualities to fall into that classification. If you want to know more about it, check the doctor's files. I'm sure he'll have tons of notes." Reno snorted and shuddered.

"Just hand me the written version of that, boss, ok?" he said looking at Tseng. Genesis chuckled humorlessly and absently flicked his bangs from his eyes.

"Don't want to watch the home movies?"

"I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty spork and rub salt and lemon juice in the wounds thank you very much." Genesis snorted and shook his head, looking up when Sephiroth and Zack spoke at the same time, one sounding worried, the other highly alarmed and more than a little outraged.

"Videos?"

"It appears the good doctor was rather fond of video documentation instead of the traditional computer or handwritten notes," he answered. It was good thing he was watching his friend's face when he said that or he would have missed the brief spark of rage that added an extra green tint to his already greenish eyes. Sephiroth's jaw clenched momentarily before relaxing, forcing himself to be calm. Zack, however wasn't doing a very good job.

"He… recorded…."

"Yes."

"….That sick—"

"Not right now, Zack." Zack's mouth moved for a few moments, blue eyes glowing brightly, jaw clenching tight as he resisted the urge to break something.

"We'll look over the data and see if we can find something. In the meantime….." Their voices turned to static in his ears. As Genesis had been watching Sephiroth's reaction to news of the good doctor's documenting preferences, he had heard the faint creak of a door opening deeper into the apartment. Sephiroth had apparently heard it too, turning from the occupants of the room to the hallway. Genesis felt his heart skip a beat for some reason as the faint confusion of Sephiroth's face deepened before mixing with surprise and a dash of apprehension. Forcing his muscles to cooperate with him and feeling as though he was walking through partially frozen mako, he moved slowly to Sephiroth's side and looked down the hallway, breath stilling in his lungs as sunlight glanced off golden hair.

The t-shirt he wore hung on his thin shoulders, the pants almost too big for his slender frame and nearly swallowing his feet. His arms hung at his sides, shoulders slumped forward a little, peering at them through his bangs. Genesis's pulse began to speed up the longer he stared at that impassive face, wishing that the thread of green slowly working its way from the corner of his eye to the small capillaries surrounding it was just a trick of the light. The growing web of green pulsing just under his skin spoke otherwise. Movement beside him drew his attention to his silver haired friend as he took a cautious step forward, hand lifting as though to reach out to the boy.

Those eyes blinked slowly, focusing on the raised hand and running slowly from it up the arm, across the shoulder, up the neck and to the face, tracing over silver hair and carefully constructed features, freezing on the man's eyes. Genesis swallowed heavily, hearing Zack's voice as he asked something, he and someone else moving closer to them to see what held their attention.

"Cloud?!" Zack exclaimed, voice shattering against Genesis's ears. Oh how he'd wished the idiot had stayed silent, seeing and registering the green web spreading across the boy's face before he spoke. His mouth opened to say something but he froze, heart stopping as he watched a cruel smirk curve across his kitten's face, eyes locked on Sephiroth. He wanted to say something, anything in attempt to bring his kitten's attention away from Sephiroth but he couldn't move. All he could do was watch as the green bled across the whole of his left eye, a twisting, swirling mass of poisonous green, pulsing and glowing under his skin. He could only watch as his kitten continued to smirk and took one lurching step forward, hand rising slowly from his side, reaching towards Sephiroth. Another lurching step forward, fingers twitching and curling. Another step, a crash, and Sephiroth was falling forty seven stories down to the ground below.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Quick thanks to my Koi *glompcuddlechu* for betaing and being absolutely wonderful! And thank you all for reading and your reviews! They make me happy and eager to post! Now if you will excuse me, I shall go hide in the mountains! *Runs away*

Disclaimer: Don't own it!

* * *

Chapter 6

_Five years, three months before Nibelheim._

Sephiroth let his shoulders slump a little as he entered his apartment, not bothering to turn the lights on. Leaning back against the closed door, he allowed himself a few moments of stillness, just to breathe and exist without anything expected of him. Still leaning against the door, he pulled his gloves off and tossed them onto the side table, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to alleviate the remaining numbness. Carefully, he reached up and began undoing the buckles on his jacket, moving the heavy leather aside and away from his skin, moving very carefully so as not to pull anything and catching the jacket in his hands when it fell off his arms. Thankfully, he had remembered to leave off the heavy metal shoulder guards, knowing that they would only be a hindrance today. As he reached up to undo the straps of his harness, a rustling sound from the living room caught his attention.

"Seph?" a sleep laden voice called softly before he could move from the door to investigate. Sighing, he forced himself to relax and straightened, pushing away from the door with a soft creak of leather and walked into the living room.

"What are you still doing up?" he asked softly, looking towards the couch. He had expected the blonde to be seated, rubbing at his eyes with a blanket pulled over himself as he dozed and he'd also expected an enthusiastic though sleepy welcome home. What he hadn't expected was the little cadet launching himself from the couch and wrapping around him like an octopus the moment he was in sight. After a moment of surprise, he carefully wrapped his arms around him and tangled his fingers in his hair, kissing the top of his head that had settled under his chin.

"Cloud," he said after a moment, concern lacing his voice as the boy's arms became vices around his torso. "What's wrong?" Cloud shook his head and molded himself more tightly to him, shaking arms tightening around his waist. With another kiss to the top of his head, Sephiroth set his chin on top of the mass of golden spikes, fingers weaving through the soft silk and arm settling around his waist, content to wait for the time being. Gradually, the shaking eased until Cloud was merely cuddled close to him, both taking comfort in the other.

"Are you ok?" Cloud asked, pulling back a little to look up at him. Frowning, Sephiroth reached up and cupped the side of his face, stroking just under the eye in an attempt to relieve some of the fear and unease he saw reflected in the sapphire blue spheres.

"I am fine. Are you alright?" Cloud nodded after a minute before burrowing closer again, kissing his neck absently.

"Bad dream," he said softly.

"Ah. Perhaps from the sleeping on the couch."

"I wanted to wait up for you."

"Thank you," he said with a smile, kissing the top of his head again. "But you didn't have to."

"I wanted to." The smile found a place on his face again and lingered as he began to sway a little, trying to ease the nervousness he still felt in the teen's back. They stood there in silence for a while, Cloud's grip eventually loosening from painful to pleasant around his waist, his delicate fingers weaving into his long hair, the muscles in his back and shoulders relaxing finally. Sephiroth was content to stay as he was, gently swaying with the blonde tucked safely in his embrace, his presence soothing away any lingering ache he felt. By silent mutual agreement they eventually moved down the hall to the bedroom where Sephiroth was finally able to shed the harness, pants and boots and pull on a pair of pajama bottoms before slipping between cool cotton sheets. A mere second after his head settled on the pillows, Cloud was wrapping around him again, burrowing into his side and arms sliding around his stomach, fingers twisting in his hair. He settled his own arms around him, burying his nose in his hair and letting himself begin to sink into blessed sleep.

"Hey, Seph?" Cloud said softly, drawing Sephiroth from his half asleep state.

"Hm?"

"Promise… promise me… you won't go crazy ok?" Frowning, Sephiroth opened his eyes and looked down at the mop of blonde hair resting on his shoulder.

"Please?"

"I promise," he said, tightening his embrace. He felt Cloud smile against his skin, remaining tension flowing out of him and allowing him to drift back to sleep. Sephiroth remained awake for a few minutes more, pondering over the strange promise, eventually falling asleep with a frown on his face. Oh, how he wished he had asked the same of Cloud at the time.

~*~

In a burst of black feathers, Sephiroth felt his wing extend from his back and steady him in the air halfway from the ground. Turning his gaze skyward, he had just enough time to hold his arms out and catch his attacker before he fell past him. Cloud's weight, which should have been _nothing_ to him, ripped him from his place in the sky, sending him tumbling downwards for one disorienting moment, his grip tightening around the little blonde, before his wing found purchase in the air again and he jerked to a halt, shoulder wrenching with the strain. He held back a wince and looked down at the creature in his arms when a slender arm wrapped around his shoulder, fingers tracing delicately over his face in a familiar caress. Cold mako green stared up at him from an angel's face, pulsing green under the skin contorting the face he once knew into something he couldn't recognize. Slowly, he navigated them closer towards the ground, staring into the poison green of Cloud's left eye and leaning into the delicate dance of those fingers on his face. The fingers continued their dance across his face, over his jaw, down his neck and through his hair, burying into the thick feathers where his wing met his back and slowly stroking through them, his upper body leaning back so Sephiroth had to shift the arm around him to accommodate his wandering hands.

"Cloud," he whispered, drawing his attention away from the wing and back to his savior. Plush, pale pink lips slowly curved into a small smile. The fingers buried in his feathers turned to vices around the bone beneath. With that smile still on his beautiful face, Cloud kept one arm in place and yanked back with the other, the bone breaking in two in his hands. Far above them, staring through a broken window and squashed against the other, the assembled group in the top floor apartment heard what they had never thought they'd hear even in their wildest dreams. A scream of agony echoed up to them as Sephiroth spasmed and plummeted the last few feet to the ground, his wing twisted at an odd angle and flapping uselessly behind him.

Zack pressed a hand to his mouth, face ashen and eyes wide, wishing that scream had been his mind playing tricks on him. The familiar expression of agony across Sephiroth's face as it turned upwards to them dispelled that thought. They remained frozen as the pair crashed to the ground, another piercing shriek of anguish reaching them, tearing Zack from his place by the window. Through the roaring of his pulse in his ears, he heard Rufus shouting orders at Tseng, the voices growing distant as he flew from the apartment and towards the stairwell, barreling down towards the ground floor as fast as his legs could carry him.

A fresh wave of pain crashed into Sephiroth as they slammed into the ground, his wing, twisted under him, breaking again. He would have screamed, yet the knee digging into his diaphragm and the hand pressed against his throat negated that option. His jaw moved, chest stuttering and heaving, wing and fingers twitching. Each twitch, even the thought of moving, sent pain arcing in bright streaks down his spine and to the end of every limb. Slowly, an eternity later, the pain settled into a numbing cold on the upper right side of his body, allowing him to carefully slit his eyes open and stare into poisonous green. Green that stared down at him from eyes that should be the clearest, unmako brightened sky blue and complimented with a bright smile instead of the mockery twisting it now.

Blonde spikes shifted as he cocked his head to the side as though asking a question. The familiar movement sent a different natured bolt of pain through him, rage quickly twisting around his arms and giving enough strength to his limbs to shove the imposter off him and stumble to his feet, scrambling away from it as quickly as he could. His right side sagged from the weight of his broken wing, the black feathers trailing across the ground and leaving a scattered path from where it had lain. The creature stared at him, watching him with those warped eyes and mocking smile, hand reaching out in an imitation of comfort. He did not understand this.

While it was expected that the boy would have some amount of mako in his system given his place of residence for the past five years, he did not believe that it could be so much as to warp him into something that he could not recognize. He traced his eyes over that face he once knew, searching for an aspect, any aspect that his love was somewhere in there, hidden behind the poison green of the mako pulsing under his skin. As he watched, the imitation slowly stood, eyes still locked on him, hand still out stretched towards him, beckoning to him. It took a step forward, then another and another, moving closer and forcing him back from it. He would not stand near that thing, not while it wore his Cloud's skin like a cheap coat.

Something rushed from the pit of his stomach and lodged in his throat causing his eyes to water and wander away from the slowly approaching creature. Quickly, he pressed a hand to his mouth before series of choking, wracking coughs erupted from him. He hunched over, hand tight over his mouth, throat and lungs working to try and heave the lodged mystery from its place.

_Gaia, not now. Please, not now._

It came free in a spray of black from between his fingers, slipping against the leather of his gloves and raining thick, oily droplets into his hair. The acrid taste of it clung to his tongue and he could swear he felt the remaining bile lingering in his mouth and throat trying to worm its way back down inside of him, trying to work against his now heaving muscles as it rid more of the toxin from his body. Careful, hesitant fingers gently drew his hand away from his mouth and traced through the muck in an attempt to wipe it away. He opened his eyes and looked up, his hopes dashed once more when the creature stared back at him. That mocking smile stretched and Sephiroth was double over, the breath knocked out of him as the creature drove his knee into his stomach again.

Claws hooked into his hair and yanked, throwing him a few feet away, ripping some of the strands from his scalp. He had barely landed before a heel dug sharply into his side, the sole of the foot following quickly afterward and pummeling his chest. Survival kicked in and he twisted, rolling away, heedless of the foot that came down and slammed into the ground, some of his feathers ripping free under the pressure. The coughing began again but for a different reason, red mixing with muck, flying from his lips to stain the ground. Forcing himself onto his elbows and knees, he held his shaking frame up, trying to keep his face out of the growing puddle of muck he heaved onto the ground.

Genesis watched from high above, knelt before the shattered window, arms around his knees, mind at war over what to do. On one hand, he had sworn to his kitten that should they ever meet up with Sephiroth again, he would allow him to take care of it however he saw fit. Yet on the other hand, he could only watch his two companions in the midst of battle for so long. He watched as Cloud stalked after Sephiroth when he scurried away, watched Sephiroth hunch over, seized with wracking coughs for some reason, Cloud gripping the man's shoulders and driving his knee into his unprotected stomach. Sephiroth's ribs were no doubt either fractured or broken by now, the driving kicks from Cloud having enough force behind them despite his ravaged frame to cause a good amount of damage… if the opponent was weak.

That was another thing that warred in him. Cloud was strong yes, his mako level perhaps on par with Genesis's elevated one, but not as strong as to cause this much damage to the great Sephiroth. It had taken Angeal and Genesis to even get the man to break a sweat in a spar and that was only after they were both nearly worn down from exhaustion. Something was most certainly wrong with Sephiroth. Gold stole his attention once more. Cloud was moving, limping really, towards the other side of Sephiroth, his right side where the injured wing lay immovable on the ground. The white of the protruding bones was clearly visible in the high afternoon sun, glinting off the torn and clinging muscles. He could watch no more.

From his crouched position he launched himself out the window, strong legs propelling him away from the building and sending him towards the ground quicker than if he had just fallen. Through the ease of long practice, he shoulder blades flexed, pushing backwards as the muscles contracted, summoning his wings into existence. The large appendages caught on the wind and allowed him to soar close the ground and scoop his kitten up before he could tear the wing from Sephiroth's back. His kitten was still in his hold for only a moment, exploding into scratching, biting, kicking struggling as soon as his feet brushed the ground. He kept his arms tight around him, bringing his wings in close to block out the sight of the outside world. Still his kitten struggled against him, ignoring the soft feathers that beckoned him to calm.

"Kitten," he called, voice smooth and even. "Kitten, calm down, precious. It's alright now. You've won. You don't have to fight anymore. It's alright. It's done. You've won. Kitten, Cloud, please." Gradually, the struggling lessened until the little blonde was a doll in his arms, the poison green fading from his eyes and skin as if it had never been there. Threading his fingers through the soft spikes, he laid his chin on top of his head and let out a long breath, forcing his heart to calm down less it stir his kitten into action again.

"Seph! Seph! Come on, Seph, stay with me!" Genesis turned his head and created an opening through the feathers to see outside, gaze sweeping over the area and finally landing over Zack. Zack, who knelt over the heaving form of Sephiroth. His ears picked up the sound of violent retching, Sephiroth's back arching and releasing with the act. Zack ran his hand over the man's back, talking soothing nonsense to someone that couldn't hear him. When Sephiroth's retching finally stopped, his arms giving out from under him, Zack quickly gathered him close and started shouting at the nearby on lookers to get a medical team or two to the site immediately.

Zack swept long silver strands away from Sephiroth face, tearing his gloves off to check the man's pulse. His own heart was racing; he knew that, he could hear it in his ears. Sephiroth's was irregular, ranging from slow to frighteningly fast. His breathing was slow, rattling in his lungs like water through decaying pipes. Thick black sludge dripped slowly from the corner of his mouth, dropping into the large puddle beneath them. Biting his lip, he hoped that the coldness he felt was in his own hands and not in the skin of Sephiroth's throat. The man was already frighteningly pale, the barest hint of color tinting his skin on the best days but now, now Zack could see the veins pulsing under his skin, thin and blue, creating a web that should never be seen unless on a corpse.

"Come on, Seph," he whispered, fingers pressed tight to the slowing pulse. "Come on."

"Zack. Zack! Let go. We need to look him over." When had the medical team gotten here? Reluctantly, he let Sephiroth go and eased him onto the ground away from the mess, the medics swarming around him and shouting to each other in a language Zack couldn't begin to understand. Carefully, he moved out of the way and back a few steps, a medic quickly taking up his position. He traced his eyes over Sephiroth's face, a face that looked more and more like a lifeless statue with each passing second. In a blur, Sephiroth was loaded up onto a gurney, his wing folded carefully over him with the bones set in place and rushed across the courtyard to another side building that housed the extensive lab and medical wing. When they rounded the corner, leaving his sightline, Zack slowly turned and met the Genesis's questioning gaze through spread feathers. Through silent agreement, both men moved to enter the housing complex, Zack in front, Genesis's wings forming a barrier between Cloud and the outside world. They would wait until they returned to the apartment to explain. It would be a few hours before they got any word on Sephiroth and both knew that it would take those hours just to explain the events that had occurred right before their eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry it took so long! Work kept me busy and the chapter wouldn't cooperate with me. Thank you, Koi, for all your help! I'm gonna stay up in the mountains for a little while longer since I think I'm still gonna get yelled at for this. Enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it.

* * *

Chapter 7

_One year, one month ago_

Zack carefully held back Sephiroth's hair as the man braced one arm above his head on the tree in front of him, the other wrapped tightly around his stomach as he dry heaved. Thick black fluid dripped from Sephiroth's nose and chin, joining the growing puddle at their feet. The trembling in Sephiroth's back began to ease, the dry heaves tapering off until Sephiroth was able to spit out some of the sludge. Zack was ready with the canteen; wordlessly handing it to Sephiroth and retrieving a scrap of cloth form his pocket. With a quite word of thanks, the silver haired man began to rinse his mouth out, careful not to swallow and spit several times until the water came out clear. While he did that, Zack took a potion vial from his pocket and dampened the rag, casting a low level fire spell and handing it to Sephiroth. The silver haired man took the rag and wiped his face off, dropping it into the puddle afterwards. Zack cast a fire spell and directed it to the puddle, watching with no small amount of satisfaction as it quickly caught and burst into flames. They'd wait here until all the black was gone then cast an ice spell so the fire didn't get out of control.

"You ok, Seph?" he asked quietly, keeping a close eye on the man as he leaned against another tree and took a few cautious sips of water. He looked like hell. His skin was waxy looking and now truly did look unhealthy, his eyes were slightly unfocused, it looked like every movement hurt and the only thing he was able to keep down was water and that was only half the time.

"I will be fine, Zack," he said softly, voice rough. Zack nodded and leaned against the tree next to him, watching the flames devour the thick toxin. They were maybe two to two and half weeks away from Nibelheim and this was honestly the healthiest Sephiroth had been in a long time. He was still a long way off from being able to take out a red dragon in a single hit but at least he was doing better than before.

"We will head towards Midgar," Sephiroth said, sitting down at the base of the tree.

"What? Why do we need to go back there?" He already knew why and Sephiroth knew he knew but he explained anyway.

"Hojo is there and you and I both know that Hojo and Shinra have been around for far too long. They are not needed." Sighing, Zack sat next to him and took the canteen back, screwing on the cap.

"We're gonna take it slow though. We're not gonna attack until you're feeling better and don't say you're fine because that's bullshit and we both know it." Sephiroth wisely snapped his mouth shut.

"Very well then," he said after a minute. "Let's go. The smoke will attract monsters." Zack nodded and quickly cast two ice spells to put out the fire, kicking dirt over the spot to smother the last few flickers. Sephiroth stood with help from the tree and allowed Zack to place his arm around his shoulders, thankful that nothing was said when he placed more weight than normal on him. Wrapping an arm around Sephiroth's waist, Zack gripped his wrist tightly and began a slow but steady pace towards the nearby river.

~*~

The ding of the elevator arriving at the top floor forced Zack to actually pay attention. Allowing Genesis to go first, he stepped out of the elevator and walked over to Sephiroth's apartment door, digging around in his pockets for the key. He heard Genesis's door unlock and watched out of the corner of his eye as the man stepped through, Cloud cradled carefully in his arms. After another moment of searching, he pulled the key from his pocket and unlocked the door, stepping inside. He walked through the living room, wincing internally at the blandness of the room and made his way towards Sephiroth's bedroom at the back of the apartment. Quickly, he grabbed a duffel bag and began digging through the meager amount of Clothes Sephiroth had.

He made a mental note to go shopping for the man, stuffing a pair of jeans and a white button down shirt into the bag, not caring about the fact that Sephiroth wasn't overly fond of the items in the first place. Stuffing a pair of socks, underwear, boots his training clothes, sneakers, brush and other toiletries into the bag, Zack raided the book shelf and packed some of those away too before zipping the bag up. Running a quick mental checklist, he slung the bag over his shoulder and made his way out the door, carefully relocking the apartment and pocketing the key.

"You know as well as I do that there is nothing that you can do right now," Genesis said from the doorway of his own apartment.

"You just worry about Cloud. I'll take care of Sephiroth." Zack walked down the hallway towards the elevator, mashing the down button a few times.

"It's going to be a while before you're allowed near him."

"I know that."

"Then get in here, Fair. Sephiroth is in good hands," Tseng interrupted from behind Genesis. Zack scowled and hefted the bag higher up on his shoulder.

"That wasn't a suggestion."

"Well, I'm taking it as one so bite me."

"McNeil is already heading to the medical wing and Carson is heading hear to pick up his things. They know to call you if things get bad. Now get in here, Fair or—"

"You'll miss hearing about what's wrong with Cloud." The elevator doors opened with a soft ding admitting another SOLDIER to the floor. He was tall and lanky, thick dirty blonde bangs hanging in his grey eyes. With a hesitant smile at Zack, he reached out for the bag.

"We'll make sure the General is ok, Zack," he said. Zack bit his lip and hesitantly handed the bag over. Carson, he knew, was a good man. He'd been a First Class for about a year or so when Zack had been promoted to First and apparently had been one of Sephiroth's more loyal Firsts. Not to say that not all of the Firsts were loyal, just that out of the already extremely close knit group, there were a few who were even closer to the beloved General than others. McNeil was another of the closer SOLDIERS, the older man being one of the instructors in the SOLDIER program and a veteran of the early years of the Wutai War. He knew he could trust them both to look after Sephiroth yet long habit of looking after the man himself had him hesitating. With an understanding smile, Carson took the bag from Zack's hand, prying off his tight grip and swung it over his own shoulder.

"Hourly reports as always," he said. Zack nodded in agreement and stepped back from the doors, watching as they closed and wishing he was on the other side of them. After a few moments he turned and walked into Genesis's apartment, ignoring Tseng by the door and sitting on one of the barstools at the counter. Tseng shut the door, staying near it so he could watch all of the occupants of the room. Reno was leaning against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling while Rude stood close to the intact window. He'd already sent Elena down to the medical wing to make sure no one got hurt if the General woke up delirious as he usually did. Rufus looked anything but pleased with the situation, his eyes boring into the top of Genesis's head as the red head leaned over the back of the arm chair to place a gentle kiss on the unconscious blonde's forehead. A shifting black drew his attention the wings on Genesis's back, one coming forward to rest on top of Cloud like a makeshift blanket.

"What's wrong with Sephiroth?" Genesis asked as Rufus opened his mouth to ask his own question. Rufus scowled and motioned for Tseng to answer.

"The Jenova cells in his body are being rejected and purged," he said. "The reason why is unclear at this point as we have yet to get a straight answer." Genesis nodded slowly, a thoughtful look on his face, fingers carding through Cloud's hair.

"Perhaps, Mr. Rhapsodos, you could now tell us what just happened." Genesis sent Rufus an amused look.

"I hadn't realized your eye sight was that bad, Mr. President. Perhaps you should look into getting glasses."

"This is no time for jokes, Rhapsodos. What the hell just happened?"

"You mean why did Cloud attack Sephiroth? Who knows?"

"You do apparently, yo." Genesis snorted at that.

"I assure you, I don't. It could honestly be any number of things."

"So, he isn't awake then?"

"I don't know. He could be. Or it could be that he's starting to wake up and that stronger emotions woke up first and took control or it's a sign that the good doctor's plan back fired again and he'll have to start over… again. Any real number of things."

"Why would he attack Sephiroth?" Genesis paused and turned slightly to look at Zack. He was staring off into space, fingers tapping idly on the countertop, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed in barely anxiety. Letting out a sigh, Genesis stared down at the top of Cloud's head.

"Perhaps," he started. "He remembers something he believes Sephiroth had forgotten."

"And what would that be?"

"_He promised me," Cloud whimpered, clutching the pillow of his bed to his chest in a rare moment of weakness. Genesis didn't glance away from his examination of the ceiling, fingers still tapping against the back of his hand._

"_Who promised what?" he asked quietly, the sniffling of his roommate causing his heart to lurch strangely with each sound. Cloud bit his lip, arm scrubbing across his face in an attempt to stave off the tears. He cautiously glanced at the other man, red hair streaked with fading grey, brown eyes sharp and uninterested. Regardless, he felt compelled to answer him, as though he might understand._

"_Sephiroth," he whispered. "He promised me... that he wouldn't go crazy." Genesis glanced at the little blonde, watching as he buried his face in the pillow to hide his tears. He turned back to the ceiling, leaving the boy to his grief. Mentally, he added another tally to the count he had of broken promises. Strike two. Sephiroth's perfect track record was broken again._

"I'm afraid I don't know."

"That's bullshit!" Zack leapt to his feet and glared at Genesis's back. "You know exactly what the fuck is going on here! You're just being an ass and not telling us! What? You make a deal with Langley that if he stops your degrading then you'll do everything in your power to stop us or something? That's not even Cloud is it?!"

"Zack—"

"I would rather degrade than be under that monster's 'care' again, Fair," Genesis interrupted, turning to level his own glare at the black haired First. "And of course it's Cloud. Langley couldn't even clone a fly. All he knew how to do was take something apart and put it back together, throwing in a few little 'extras' along the way to 'improve' what he was working on."

"Is that why you have the second wing?" Tseng asked. Genesis sent him a condescending smile.

"Well, now we can all see why you're in the Turks. Congratulations! Ten points to you," he said.

"What do you mean extras? What was Langley trying to do?"

"Your scientists haven't figured that out yet?"

"Stop fucking around!" Zack grabbed the back of Genesis's and yanked him back, hurling him towards the breakfast counter. Genesis stumbled a few steps and caught himself, meeting Zack's furious gaze with his own rising irritation.

"You know what the fuck is going on here now spit it out! Stop playing all these god damn games and tell us what we want to fucking know!"The two stared at each other for a long moment, Zack's eyes slowly turning green as the mako rose in his blood. Genesis remained mostly calm, the only sign of his own irritation being the narrowing of his eyes and the clenching of his fists. The others in the room felt the tension slowly ratcheting higher and were careful not to move lest they be the match that lit the trail of gunpowder leading to the powder keg.

"You really want to know?" Genesis asked softly, bland smirk curling the corners of his lips upwards. With a short laugh, he moved backwards and leaned against the counter, needing the solid structure beneath his elbows as whispers of the past began to dance in his ears.

"Have any of you ever heard of the Eyes of Gaia?" The assembled group slowly shook their heads or raised their eyebrows in question.

"Eyes of Gaia?" Zack asked. Genesis let out a long breath and turned his gaze towards the ceiling, tracing random patterns across the blank surface with his eyes.

"It is said that long ago, there were people that could see the life stream and communicate with those inside of it. Some, so the legend goes, could even bring the dead back to life."

"What does—"

"If you want the answers, keep your mouth shut, Fair." Zack obediently snapped his jaw shut, crossing his arms over his chest.

"According to legend, those that could see the life stream and communicate with those within were very close to the life stream itself. Perhaps from birth or circumstances later in life. Regardless, all those with varying degrees of that power were very close to the life stream."

"They were favored by Gaia?" asked Rufus, prickling a little at the indulgent smirk Genesis shot him.

"If some were so lucky. Here's a question that should be easy to answer. How does one enter the life stream?"

_He was so small and shaking. Dripping wet, his spikes drooped onto his forehead. His breathing was erratic, body curled tightly to try and preserve what body heat he still had. Genesis quickly grabbed the sheets from the blonde's bed and began to dry him off, swearing at the frigid temperature of his pasty skin. Wide blue eyes stared up at him, uncomprehending, lips stained blue. His limbs were stiff when Genesis moved them, removing the wet clothes carefully from his body. Ignoring the sight of numerous burn scars and bullet wounds, things that would be gone in a few days, he used the sheets and dried off the rest of the little blonde, pulling off his own shirt and gathering him to his chest afterwards. Grabbing the second comforter from the blonde's bed, he burrowed under the covers on his own and tucked Cloud under him, knowing that his skin pressed against Cloud's felt like a furnace. Thin arms wrapped around his waist, legs tangling together, the first few tears splashing against Genesis's shoulder the only warmth the blonde had in him. _

"…You die?" Reno asked. He did not like where this was going and couldn't help glancing at the sleeping blonde in the arm chair.

"Yes. To enter the life stream, one's life must end. Therefore, those 'gifted' with the Eyes of Gaia had either encountered death from birth or encountered it any number of times in their life without actually dying and entering the life stream."

_His fingers tapped out an erratic tempo on his arm, his head twitching against his shoulder, breath quaking in his lungs and bursting in small puffs against his neck. The muscles under his arms were slowly settling, his legs twitching occasionally against him and the floor, toes curling and uncurling as sporadically as his fingers' tempo. Genesis, his arms wrapped tightly around him, listened to Cloud's heart beat, the irregular rhythm slowing and speeding up with breaks in between. Each of those breaks lasted longer than before, each one causing Genesis to send a silent prayer to Gaia._

'_Please,' he prayed. 'Please, take him. Take him this time. Don't let his heart keep beating. Gaia, take him.' His heart kept restarting._

"What the hell does all of this have to do with Cloud?" Zack growled, eyes narrowed at Genesis. Genesis sighed and looked away from the ceiling. He knew Zack wouldn't connect the dots though he hoped the others in the room would figure it out. He had explained as much as he could for the moment, the rage lying just under his skin prickling closer and closer to the surface, his control over it slipping through his fingers like grains of sand the more he remembered the details of that project.

"The Eyes of Gaia project," Tseng said after a long moment of silence. Turning his dark eyes towards Genesis, he watched as the man brushed past Zack and leaned over Cloud again, fingers gently twining in his hair again.

"Isn't that that file they're having a hard time decoding?" Reno asked. At Tseng's brief nod, his mind began to work through the possibilities.

"Will you stop talking in fucking riddles?!" Zack shouted, nearly tearing his hair out. While everyone else seemed to be coming to the same conclusion, he couldn't get around the fact that no one was giving him a straight answer. Some legend wasn't important. All he needed to know was why Cloud went crazy and tried to kill his lover. Sure, the man had gone insane, but that was all thanks to the ever so wonderful alien psycho Jenova and her playmate Hojo. Once Cloud woke up he'd—

"He wants to play god," Rufus spoke up. His gaze was focused on the floor, elbows resting on his knees with his fingers woven together between them. Genesis's fingers stilled in Cloud's hair, a humorless, bitter smirk curling his lips. Leaning further over the back of the arm chair, he pressed a gentle kiss to Cloud's forehead.

"I guess that's why they made you president," he said. With a sigh, he moved around the chair and knelt by Cloud's feet, taking one slim wrist in hand and pressing his fingers to the pulse, taking comfort in its steady rhythm.

"Yes," he said after a moment. "The good doctor used Cloud in his experiment to control life and death."

"And you?" Reno asked, voice hushed. Again, the smirk curled across his face. Closing his eyes, he pressed his forehead against Cloud's hand, fingers still pressed against the pulse in his wrist.

"A guardian angel can't have just one wing, can it?"


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Whee!! Sorry it's been a while guys but I haven't been thinking much about this chatper since Zack was being mean about his part. So I changed that and here's the finished product! Thank you for being so patient and I hope you enjoy! Please tell me what you guys think as I really enjoy hearing your opinions. As always, thank you so much to my wonderful Koi for betaing!! Thank you for reading and enjoy the chappy!

Disclaimer: haha! I wish I owned it.

* * *

Chapter 8

"You… promised me." Cold blue eyes stared at him, hands wrapped around the blade in his chest.

"You promised me," he said again, pulling himself forward on the blade, disregarding the further damage caused by doing so.

_You promised nothing, my son. You are far too great for such useless things as promises. Worthless creatures such as this are not worthy of your notice._

"Sephiroth! You promised… you wouldn't go crazy! You said… you said you'd… stay with me. You said—"

"Silence." The sword swung around and buried into the wall by the door, the cadet still skewered on the blade.

"Why would I even grant you the privilege of speaking to me, let alone say such meaningless things?" A cry echoed through the reactor as the blade twisted in his chest, searing agony shooting down his spine, making his skin crawl.

"They… aren't… meaningless," he whimpered. Blue met green, a silent plea crossing the void between them.

"Seph… please… you… told Zack… you'd stay… you'd… stay for us… Seph… please…" Light glinted off the twisting blade, turning the scarlet painting it to bright ruby, the slit becoming a small hole, gasped words becoming choked, ear splitting screams of agony. A snarl twisted across his face as he ripped the blade from the blonde's chest, the pathetic thing crumpling to the floor, struggling for breath as he twitched. He drew back his foot and sent it crashing into the blonde's stomach, his body becoming an almost U with the impact.

_Yes, my son_, Mother whispered. _Do not listen to this useless bag of wasted flesh. Kill him and we shall take our revenge and sail through the cosmos on the ruins of this planet._ Mother was so smart. Staring down at the useless ball of a human, he drew back again, poised to strike. His foot swung forward with enough force to hopefully break the thing in half, his ears anticipating the satisfying snapping that would indicate broken bones. Silence. His foot hovered a mere six inches from its intended target yet he could move no further, as if a barrier had been erected around the boy preventing harm. Snarling, he pulled back and tried again and again and again, the distance growing each time until he could only stand there, staring down at the wretched mass. Why? Why couldn't he strike the boy? Mother was screaming at him to strike, to break the boy into so many pieces, now, so why, why couldn't he? Why?

Because a shaking, gloved hand was reaching for him, catching and grasping a small lock of hair that hung in front of him. Warm, sad, pleading blue stared up at him from a pale angel's face, the golden spikes of hair shifting as he tried to move. Trembling, red stained lips were murmuring his name, pleading with him to listen to reason. A part of him, a small, tiny piece of him reached out from the growing darkness, becoming larger as his hand dropped Masamune and gripped the hand holding his hair, weaving their fingers together. That part shoved aside Mother's voice and bent his knees, bringing him down to his angel's level, so the blue could stare at him more closely.

_What are you doing? Why are you wasting your time here? Kill him and the other one. We have far more important things to do, my son_.

"Se…phiroth."

_Kill him_.

"S-seph."

_Kill him now_.

"Seph… p-please…."

_Kill him!_

"S-seph…" The fingers twined with his went limp. Blue eyes slid closed. Why? Why was he sleeping now? It wasn't time to sleep. He was still… still on a mission wasn't he? Cadets weren't supposed to sleep while they were on duty so why was he sleeping? Never letting go of that hand, he set Mother aside carefully and reached out to check his pulse.

"Seph." His name, whispered in the middle of the night as he dreamt.

"Seph?" Half asleep as he curled around him under the blankets, home from a late mission.

"Seph! Come here!" Called by his friend as he ran ahead of him towards the window overlooking the gym where cadets were training. A song hummed as they lay curled on the couch, his nose buried in blonde spikes while slim fingers traced random patterns across the arm around his waist. A shy smile across the dinner table. Bouncing in excitement, black spikes imitating the energy of their owner as they waved through the air, a voice chattering animatedly at him. A lithe form curled against him. The crashing of swords ringing in his ears. A grin as bright as the sun, boots propped up on his desk just to annoy him. Splashing water, watching the two play in the river before he was dragged in after them, the red head scampering away before he could kill him for ruining his new coat. A steady voice calmly talking him down from a battle high, kind brown eyes catching his gaze and holding it longer each time. Voices calling him. Calling and calling and calling from far behind the thick, dark fog cast over his mind. They clamored for his attention, shouting and screaming, getting louder and louder and louder until it was one big screaming mass of sound right between his ears, growing and growing and growing.

"Promise," one whispered, the noise fading so the other voices cold listen. "Promise me… you won't go crazy ok?"

_Sephiroth!_

Thick, foul, noxious, burning exploded in the pit of his stomach, shooting up and spreaing through the rest of him, crawling up his throat. Letting go of the blonde's hand, he scrambled away, closer to the edge of the platform, knocking into Mother, as the tremors in his hands became a violent wracking that seized the rest of him. He choked and gagged on something, thick slimy black dripping from the corner of his mouth. That black erupted from his throat a moment later, pouring out of his mouth as he heaved. It clung to him, trying to crawl back down inside of him as the muscles of his stomach and throat constricted to shove it out. The burning only got worse the longer he heaved and he struggled not to breathe it in as he gulped in air between each violent expulsion.

A faint ringing could be heard from far off, pain lancing through his head as he heard something wail, a woman's voice it seemed, caught in the throes of something horrific. The screaming ebbed and flowed, rising when black poured from him and fading when he paused. Black dripped from his nose and mouth, scorching through his veins and blistering under his skin, seeking to either bury deeper into him or search for a way out. Time seemed to screech to a half, hours, days, eons seeming to pass as he knelt on that platform, heaving sludge and what felt like his organs onto the thick metal. The voice and ringing in his head began to fade once more as the tremors and heaving tapered off, leaving him cold, numb and fuzzy headed. His vision was taken up by the thick black under him, his hair trailing through it as it spread slowly over the platform, reaching the edge and dripping off in thick drops. His vision began to dim, eyes fluttering as true, blessed silence filled his mind. As he tipped over to his side, something held him up, a vibrating of some sort beginning to run from his shoulders down the rest of his upper body.

"….phi…." What?

"…Se…roth!" Was someone calling for him?

"…phiroth!" Where were they?

"Sephiroth!" With a near violent start he lurched forward again, the burning now a growing inferno throughout him, blasting once more from his mouth. The hum of machinery and the stench of mako faded quickly from his mind, rapid high pitched beeps and scrapping feet replacing it. Curling his fingers around the arm bracing him, he gripped it tightly while his body set itself to the task of riding more of the toxin. Someone was holding his hair back for him, he noticed absently, grateful for the small act while another spoke nonsense to him in a low, calm voice, carefully rubbing his back in small circles in an attempt to sooth him. It wasn't working. It only seemed to draw more of the sludge from somewhere deep within him to be spilled upon the once pristine white floor. While no doubt good in the long run, he knew that his throat would be a wreck afterwards and talking would be an adventure he very much wanted to avoid. After a time that felt like years, he gave one final heave and allowed himself to rest fully against the man holding him.

A warm cloth, damp with something, gently wiped away the smudges of black from his skin, careful to clean off every last trace. When the cloth was removed, he was carefully settled against the raised portion of his bed, a mound of soft pillows bracing his shoulders and head while the lamp above was turned off. The blankets were drawn up to chest, his hair pulled over his shoulder to rest in a silver curtain against his right side. He could hear boot steps against the floor of the room, one of the occupants walking quietly into the hall while the other moved around to his other side, away from the mess, to slide a straw through his lips. Cracking an eye open, he spotted warm, concerned green eyes staring at him from a square jawed face, a few wisps of red hair escaping the bandana on his head to brush against his forehead.

_McNeil_. Sending a look of gratitude to the man, he took a few hesitant sips of water, enough to cool down his throat some, and let the straw slip from his mouth. The cup was set aside, McNeil careful not to make too much noise, knowing that the General's ears would be sensitive right now and drew the heavier blanket up to his shoulders.

"Get some sleep, sir," he whispered and took a seat in a nearby chair. Sephiroth gave a weary sigh and settled himself a little deeper into the pillows, drifting into a hazy sleep fraught with half remembered words of a woman he did not know and the words that kept her at bay. McNeil watched from the bedside, noting the frown on his General's face as he tried to sleep and wished that Carson would get back with the doctor soon. The mess would need to be cleaned up by some people from the science department and the General needed to be moved if he was going to get any type of rest. He didn't know what the sludge was but as he looked at it from the other side of the bed, he could tell straight away that it was something to kill Hojo over.

While nothing had been confirmed, many in SOLDIER, particularly the Firsts, suspected that it had something to do with the whack job of a scientist, no one else from the science or medical departments ever having been able to get anywhere near the General except for Hojo and that was under extreme reluctance on the General's part. The fact that the General had returned after a five year absence and was now extremely ill, even if he wanted to deny it, just added to the rumor mill. People spoke about it in whispers, almost all coming up with ideas that were just ridiculous, some coming back to the Firsts and making them want to hunt down the idiots and set them straight. Not like it would work.

"How's he doing?" Carson asked as he walked into the room, the doctor and a few nurses coming in behind him and immediately swarming around the General, careful not to wake him as they prepared to move him to another room. McNeil stood and moved out of the way.

"He's sleeping now. Make sure to call Zack and let him know that he should be waking up soon."

"Will do." The pair watched and followed silently as the medical staff carefully wheeled the General's bed and monitors from the room, avoiding the black stain on the floor. The new room was right next door, the same set up and look of the previous one. It took perhaps five or ten minutes for the nurses to set everything in its proper place and then they were gone, the doctor staying behind to check his vitals and record them on a chart. McNeil and Carson settled in chairs and waited.

~*~

He could hear voices talking to the left of him as he slowly came to. They were blended too closely together to be able to tell who they were and the words were too slurred to make them out but they didn't send his internal alarms blaring like so many other voices had the tendency of doing. Allowing himself to float in his semi conscious state, trusting in his instincts, he listened as the voices slowly sorted themselves out, the speakers becoming two separate people and the words becoming actual words instead of one large mass of sound.

"...Should stay here for a few days for observation and treatment," spoke one. The second speaker let out a harsh snort, or so he assumed.

"Yeah, good luck with that, Doc. Unless you've got some kind of restraint that can hold back Ifrit on speed the best you're going to get is over night observation and an agreement to come back the next couple days for a checkup and mako treatments." The first speaker, a doctor apparently, let out a loud sigh.

"Fair, I am telling you—"

"Have his vitals gone nutso since he stabilized?"

"…No."

"Heart stopped?"

"No."

"Breathing?"

"Fine."

"Eyes?"

"Responsive to light."

"Reflexes?"

"Normal."

"Fever?"

"No."

"Delirious?"

"No."

"Healing?"

"…Yes."

"Well, then. We'll set up a schedule and everything tomorrow and he'll stay here overnight for observation. Now that that's settled, I'd hate to hold you up so thank you very much for all your hard work and we'll see you later." There was a pause before someone left the room, the door closing quietly behind them. A moment later, a weight settled next to him on the edge of the bed, a calloused hand taking his and carefully cracking the knuckles, his other hand being picked up a moment later and a second string of cracks released into the room. As a pleased sound escaped his throat, his companion chuckled and set his hands down.

"Yeah, I thought you were awake. The doc, McNeil and Carson are gone so it's safe to open your eyes. And yes, I did turn down the lights."

"Thank you," he whispered, internally wincing at the gravely quality of his voice. Opening his eyes, he caught Zack's smile before he got up and fetched a glass of water from the side table. Blinking slowly, Sephiroth glanced around the sterile hospital room and had to repress the urge to take out the leads and tubes and storm out of the room. Zack had just said that he'd be leaving tomorrow morning, hadn't he?

"Have to stay overnight but you'll be released first thing in the morning," Zack, for once his claims of being psychic holding some actual weight, helped Sephiroth hold the cup in a shaking hand and watched as he took small sips of the cool water. After a moment, with the glass half empty, he set it on the small side table and retook one of his hands, carefully massaging the joints.

"I am fine, Zack," he said after a moment, leaning back against the pillows propping him up. Zack let out a small laugh and squeezed his wrist.

"You'd say that even if someone hacked off your arm and started to beat you with it."

"It's just an arm." Zack's fingers stilled, a small sad smile crossing his face.

"Yeah," he whispered. Reaching up, Sephiroth rotated his wrist, wiggled his fingers and gave a quick tug to a strand of Zack's hair, earning him a small laugh as his hand was caught again.

"How is Cloud?" he asked after a few moments of peaceful silence.

"He's fine. Hurt his leg but Genesis fixed it." The hesitation in Zack's voice when he answered, particularly when he said Genesis's name, was almost as loud a gunshot. Zack caught the frown on Sephiroth's face and shook his head a little, forcing a smile onto his face.

"Get some sleep, Seph," he said. "Gonna have to get up bright and early tomorrow if you want to get out of here quicker." Zack let go of his hand and stood from the bed, reaching towards the foot of the bed for the extra blanket.

"_Get some sleep, Seph. I'll be here when you wake up."_

Panic seized him. Lunging as quickly as he could, he grabbed Zack's arm and nearly yanked him off balance. Alarmed, Zack whipped his head around, mouth open to question him. Cat-slitted green eyes stared at him through a fringe of silver, seemingly brighter with the faint traces of panic around the edges. With a small sigh and a soft smile, Zack pried Sephiroth's hand of his arm, shucked his shoes and socks, grabbed the blanket, and draped it over the both of them as they settled on the narrow bed. He curled into Sephiroth's side, throwing an arm across his chest as fingers buried into his thick hair. Pressing his nose into the rich brown spikes, Sephiroth placed his other hand on Zack's arm and willed his heart to calm down, mentally forcing the haunting words from his mind. So many times. So many times Zack had said that only for him to wake up to an empty room with no idea where his friend was or what he had been taken for. It hadn't been that bad at first because at first he was often floating in a drug or pain induced haze, unable to focus on anything past the crawling under his skin.

"You know, I'll make you stay here longer if you don't calm down and get some sleep, Seph," Zack spoke up, breaking Sephiroth away from the depressing thoughts, rising panic fading with the First tucked safely against his side. With a sigh, Sephiroth twined his fingers deeper into Zack's hair, tightened his grip on his arm so he was sure Zack wouldn't leave and let his eyes slide shut, the soft humming from Zack lulling him gently to sleep. Zack continued to hum quietly as he felt Sephiroth's heart beat slow to a normal rhythm, his breathing gradually deepening as sleep claimed his tired mind.

The tune was an old Gongagan lullaby his mother used to sing to him when he was little, the melody easing him into sleep no matter how stubborn he was. Even now, as he hummed it to Sephiroth, he could feel himself drifting off, the phantom scent of heavy rain seeping up through the layers of memory to tickle at his nose and draw him back to a time where he could run through the thick brush of the forest, laughing and unaware that scientists were more insane than movies made them out to be and that the world was much harsher than it looked. He swore, as he drifted deeper into dreams, that he could feel the dirt beneath his toes, the rain drenching him from head to toe, saw a long streamer of silver to his left and bright spikes of gold to his right. Blue and green smiled at him from two different faces, their voices joining with his as they laughed and ran from the darkness far behind them towards the light above the thick canopy of the jungle. It was a good image to fall asleep to.

~*~

In the depths of the night, high above the ground, surrounded by warmth and covered by spilled silver light, heavy eye lids flickered open, blinking slowly. Blue flickered around the room, taking in the tranquil setting before closing again. The small body shifted and turned, curling closer to the one holding him and draping an arm across his companion's waist. A sleepy murmur slipped past partially opened lips, the arm around his shoulders tightening as he settled. Silence descended once more and she smiled.

_One more night of rest_. She whispered. _One more night will not harm you_. And with a gentle caress through tousled gold, she disappeared through the moonlight to wait for the coming day.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Gomen gomen gomen gomen gomen!!!! Life and work and the chapter being uncooperative and stuff has distracted me from writing! I do have the next couple chapters plotted out though so they should be up fairly quickly and I will try my hardest to update sooner! Please enjoy the chapter and I will definatly get the next one up sooner! Thank you! And as always, thank you koi for betaing and please tell me what you guys think! Oh! And before I forget, a surprise for everyone! My koi has become my partner in crime and is going to be writing the prequel so keep an eye out for a new fic by BoomChick! Enjoy the Chapter!

Disclaimer: *snort, chuckle* Yeah. I wish I owned it.

* * *

Chapter 9

In the days following the rampage of Genesis's pet, Reno found himself in a very unusual place. Slumped in a cushy chair the computer nerds insisted on having for their labs for whatever reason, he sat staring at a glowing monitor carefully watching the video data from the cell Genesis and Cloud had occupied. They had gotten a fairly good chunk of it decoded and the computer to his left was currently in the process of decoding the rest of it while the computer to his right was working through the typed observational data. The rest of the techs were working through the experiment logs and video data and had deemed this part of the massive data they'd recovered meaningless and a waste of time. It was probably a good thing then that Reno knew how to work encryption breaking programs and had taken it upon himself to work on this part, rather than walking across the lab to beat one of the tech's heads in with their own keyboard. Honestly. Hadn't the guy ever heard of turning down the volume? There was only so much "experiment reporting" one could take before the homicidal tendencies started to come to the forefront. Giving himself a quick shake, Reno turned back to the screen and carefully began to fast forward through the uneventful section. He caught Alex shaking his head out of the corner of his eye and rolled his own in return.

His fellow Turks, and quite a few others that knew him, thought that he was insane, dangerously ill or that Tseng had actually made his lobotomy threat a reality. It was really kind of funny when he looked back on it. Elena and Jody had tried to drag him down to medical more than once but he'd locked his limbs around the computer terminal he was working at and after about five or ten minutes of them tugging and threatening him, voices almost screeching in his ears as they had gotten quickly used to the quiet hum of the frantically working computers, the head tech had booted them out of the lab saying that if they were only there to disrupt them then they needed to leave. Alex had done a double take at first and kept throwing strange looks his way over the top of his book while Rude just kind of sat there and make sure he didn't implode or something.

"Why are you even bothering with this?" Elena had asked the first time she'd found him watching the observational recordings. "It's just them stuck in a room together. Nothing we really need to know." Reno had rolled his eyes at her and set his chin on the palm of his hand, eyes half lidded as they quickly took in the scenes scrolling across the screen.

"In case you haven't noticed, they're way close for being victims of this freak."

"They were held in the same room for almost five years while said freak experimented on them for whatever reason. Happens all the time with other prisoners in similar situations." Elena shrugged and leaned back in her chair, hands tucked behind her head.

"Yeah but if a prisoner was given the chance to get away I severely doubt they'd bust their ass to get an injured 'friend' out, too. Nine times out of ten they'd leave his ass behind and get the hell out of there."

"Maybe Genesis is just that one out of ten that would." Reno snorted and shook his head.

"Genesis is not the one out of ten. He's one of the nine. Guys like him would leave someone like Blondie behind if they can't be of any use."

"Maybe he's of some use. You saw what he did to Sephiroth."

"And he's practically in a coma all the other times. Someone that erratic would be left behind in a heartbeat."

"Maybe Langley did something to make Genesis so devoted."

"Maybe but that don't explain all of it, yo." Elena had rolled her eyes and went back to filing her nails while the techs and Reno worked around her. He'd had a similar conversation with Rude and Jody after Elena's and no one seemed to get why he was spending all his time on this part of the data. Sure it was about as fun as watching paint dry sometimes but the little instances of Genesis fighting off the burly handlers and Cloud going psycho on a nurse that got too close to Genesis while the red head was asleep were enough to keep his mind working in overdrive for hours. The only one who didn't ask questions was Tseng but that was really only because the man knew about Reno's penchant for observing people that interested him.

"Just don't go overboard, Reno," Tseng had said and left him to his work. That had been a couple hours ago and now, as Cissnei casually mentioned that he probably needed to take a break to at least stretch his legs, he felt that he may need to take a few hours to process what he had seen. Quickly glancing at the top of the screen, he noted the date and turned to the terminal on his right, fingers flying across the keys as he brought up the files they had decoded thus far. Genesis's file was perhaps fifty percent decoded and thankfully the date that he was looking for wasn't being run through the decryption process. His eyes scanned through the notes once, twice, three times before they found what they were looking for.

"Hey, Cissnei," he said, voice sounding faint to his own ears. "I'm gonna take a couple hours ok?"

"Good. Jody should be here soon to relieve you." Nodding, Reno quickly saved his progress, grabbed the note book he had been using to take notes and walked quietly out of the room. He had a house call to make.

~*~

With a hand firmly attached to his mouth, bile building up in his throat, Genesis raced into the kitchen and clutched the edge of the sink with one hand, the other tearing from his mouth as his stomach finally heaved itself free to spill its contents into the sink. His muscles clenched as they forced last night's meager meal and no doubt the lunch from his body. Sweat began to dot his forehead, the remaining color bleeding from his face. Between heaves he gulped down precious air, making sure to keep his eyes clenched tightly shut so as to not look at the mess his bowels were creating. Bile burned up his throat causing him to gag and choke. After many long, painful minutes, when his stomach found that it had no more things to project, he finally deemed it safe enough to fumble across the counter for the dish rag and wipe his nose and mouth clean, tossing the cloth aside to land where it would.

Running a shaky hand through his hair, Genesis forced his heart to slow down and settle back into its proper place in his chest. Water splashed into the basin of the sink as he turned the tap on, mixing with the mess in the sink and beginning to sweep it down the drain. Genesis heaved a heavy sigh and looked away, leaning against the counter. It was absolutely ridiculous. He could face down monsters several times his size with hardly a flutter of nerves, lead a team of soldiers into battle when the chances of survival were not in their favor and brush any words of caution or worry aside as if they were merely flies buzzing too close to his ears but one single though of Cloud possibly not waking up, those beautiful blue eyes remaining hidden and that wonderful spirit lost forever sent his stomach and heart into his throat and him running for the nearest container to hurl his past dozen or so meals into. Settling on the floor, back against the cabinets, he let out another sigh and stared up at the ceiling.

Why? Why did he care so much? The only time he ever got this panicked was when he used to think about Angeal or Sephiroth possibly horrifically injured and lost whenever they were late getting back from a mission and no one could tell him why. It was understandable with those two as he had known Angeal from when he was five or so and Sephiroth since he was ten. But Cloud, being this paranoid over Cloud possibly not waking up made very little sense. The blonde was scrawny, prone to crying at the drop of a hat, weak willed….

That's not true, his mind argued. Perhaps at first, when the reality of their situation hadn't settled in yet it was true but after a couple of months, maybe even weeks, when the boy finally realized…. IT still took his breath away sometimes. Thinking about it now, the boy had gone from some weak, whiny little baby to someone with a spine and a bitchy streak to rival his own. When they had gotten closer, the need to actually have some form of pleasant human contact and to be treated as something more than damn test subjects spreading through the both of them, they realized, over the course of a few days and with many a quick jab thrown here and there, that they had much in common. Cloud, a closet book worm, had taken great pleasure in hearing Genesis retell LOVELESS, the boy listening for hours, eyes wide and fixed on Genesis as he got caught up in the story and began to act out his favorite scenes instead of just quoting them. His quick mind had drawn its own interpretations, some matching Genesis's while others sparked firey arguments that almost made them forget about where they were. Almost. A "doctor" or "nurse" always came and brought reality crashing into them like a mako enhanced creature on some kind of volatile mixture of drugs he didn't want to know about.

Of course, that hardly ever stopped them. With a chuckle, he recalled the many nights when both hurt too much to move but were too keyed up to sleep and began to argue back and forth about the meanings in the classic work, the dynamics of the relationships, the motivations of the characters. It was so enlivening! No one ever argued with him! Well, they argued but never about LOVELESS. Most just rolled their eyes at him and went about their business. Occasionally he was able to get a debate or two from Angeal, more often Sephiroth but Cloud actually butted heads with him on a regular basis. Gaia, the boy almost got violent on him once! It was actually kind of funny and where the nickname kitten had come from. All Genesis could really think about when Cloud started ranting and raving one day, pacing across the room and waving his arms in the air, ranting about LOVELESS and whatever else came to mind, was a tiny little kitten all fluffed up and hissing at him. Cloud had given him a rather affronted look when he'd fallen off his bed in a fit of laughter and nearly kicked him but had merely glared and sulked in a corner when Genesis told him what was so funny. He didn't necessarily protest the nickname but he did glare whenever he used it.

Gradually, the smile faded from his face, the light of humor leaving his eyes as he looked down at the floor of the kitchen, the water a distant background noise. He wondered, when Cloud woke up, if he woke up, would he be the Cloud that Zack and Sephiroth knew; timid, shy, unsure, carefully trusting, or would he be the Cloud that Genesis had come to know; fiery, stubborn, protective, kind, funny, insightful? The confusion left him with a growing hole in his chest, the agony of the unknown tearing at him. Oh Gaia how he wished his little Cloud would wake up and smile at him, his kitten rubbing at his eyes as he usually did after he woke up from a long sleep, curling close to him and smiling—

"Hey, Genesis!" With a start, Genesis blinked and looked up, his eyes meeting concerned blue. A smile began to split his face nearly in half before he spotted the black forelock hanging slightly in front of the left eye. With a frown and a firm hand, he pushed Zack back a few inches and hauled himself up on legs that felt strangely weak.

"What are you doing here, Fair?" he asked, voice a little croaky. Reaching over, he took a glass from the drain board and swished some water in his mouth, spitting twice before draining the glass and shutting off the water. Thankfully, Zack didn't make a comment about it, just quirked an eyebrow as he leaned against the kitchen table, arms across his chest.

"Making sure you don't starve to death," Zack answered. Genesis rolled his eyes and wandered into the living room, glancing around for anyone that may have accompanied the black haired SOLDIER. A sheet of silver off to his right caught his eye, Sephiroth standing in the open doorway of the bedroom. The man was still as a statue, not daring to venture beyond the entryway lest he wake the sleeping blonde and trigger another violent explosion. Genesis spotted the longing in his eyes even from this distance, the cat green eyes bright with the urge to gather the sleeping blonde close and never let go. It was an urge he was very familiar with. Instead of giving in, like Genesis so often did, Sephiroth gave himself a little shake and turned away from the door, giving Genesis a brief nod in greeting when their eyes met. Returning the nod, Genesis couldn't help but quirk a curious eyebrow. Was it just him or did Sephiroth seem thinner than he had a day or two ago? True, the man had been unconscious for about two days and not released from the medical wing until this morning by the looks of it which probably made the day count three or so but even then Genesis held severe doubts that one could lose that much weight in such a short amount of time.

"Yeah," Zack said form the doorway of the kitchen, catching the measuring look on Genesis's face. "We're working on that." Sephiroth rolled his eyes at them and sat down in one of the arm chairs, sweeping his hair absently over his shoulder so he didn't sit on it.

"I—"

"Am a liar, yes, we're quite aware of that, my friend." Genesis ignored the narrowed eyes and headed towards the open bedroom door while Zack began to make breakfast. He had to admit, the difference wasn't that obvious unless you really knew what you were looking at. Usually, the button down shirts that Sephiroth wore looked perfectly tailored to his torso, the jeans like someone had stitched them with him in mind, showing off his perfect physique. Now though, now the shirt was a little big in the chest, the arms didn't cling as well to his muscles and he had to wear a belt to keep his jeans up. His face also looked a little more angular than usual, his cheekbones more pronounced and chin sharper. It wasn't a hard thing to admit really. Sephiroth had been his friend or quite some time and seeing him in this state was rather worrisome.

With a sigh, Genesis ran a hand through his hair and sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the blonde curled up in the sheets. The sunlight coming through the bedroom window fell across his face giving his skin a healthy look and making his hair a bit lighter. He looked so young when he slept. The harsh lines around his eyes disappearing, a lock of his hair tickling his nose causing it to twitch, his eyes flickering underneath his lids as he dreamt, bright blue reflecting the sunlight—His breath froze in his lungs.

His fingers hovered above Cloud's cheek, the digits shaking as those blue spheres pinned him where he sat. They were bright, unglossed, the natural rim of green color around the pupils enhancing the blue majority. Blonde shifted as his head turned, the face moving from profile to full, two bright eyes pinning him down with double the force. The look in them was one of hesitant recognition, disbelief and fear. So, so much fear. But perhaps… perhaps he was dreaming or hallucinating. It wouldn't be the first time such a thing had happened. Many times, especially when the boy had first fallen into his deep slumber, he had dreamt of times when he would stare into those eyes again, the blue bright with life as they started up one of their many arguments or meaningless conversations. The dreams always ended quickly though. He would wake or blink and find that the dream was just that, a wonderful dream that would most likely never come true. Even now, as he sat staring into those blue eyes, willing himself to wake up, nails digging into the skin of his leg absently and breaking the skin, he couldn't bring himself to believe that what he was staring at was real.

"Three," a soft voice said, startling Genesis. Glancing down at his hand which still hovered above the blonde, he noticed that his fingers were formed into the vision test he used whenever Cloud woke up after a particularly long rest.

"One," the voice whispered again.

"Four," he said, his right eye covered.

"Three again," left eye covered. Slowly, Genesis removed his fingers from Cloud's eye, stroking gently down his cheek and wiping away a rolling tear.

"Genesis," Cloud whispered. Thin, quivering fingers brushed against his cheek, tracing down his nose and across his forehead, brushing his auburn bangs out of his eyes. His touch grew more confident when the red head didn't disintegrate into the air.

"Genesis," he whispered again.

"K-kitten," he whispered in return. And there it was. In the split second before he was knocked off the bed by the little blonde, he received a scowl at the nickname. With a thump, the pair landed on the floor, Cloud's arms around Genesis's chest and Genesis's own arms around the boy's shoulders and back, his nose and the fingers of one hand buried in the soft blonde spikes. He didn't even notice the tears running down his face or the tears soaking the shoulder of his shirt, too consumed by the relief of having his kitten wrapped tightly in his arms, breath quick against his neck to really care. Cloud tried to squirm closer, as though trying to burrow under Genesis's skin. The unfamiliar room and warm sunlight were a pleasant and mildly alarming change from what he remembered, cold white being replaced by warm beige and harsh fluorescents replaced with warm actual sun light. With his heart hammering in his chest, he decided to ask Genesis about it later, regardless of the paranoid theories forming in the back of his mind, and snuggle as close as he possibly could, pressing his ear to Genesis's chest to listen to his rapid heartbeat.

"Please," he whimpered, a fine tremor beginning in his hands and arms, traveling quickly through the rest of him. "Please tell me aren't…. we aren't still there." Genesis was quick to reassure him, hand stroking through his hair and rubbing circles on his back, pressing a kiss to his temple as he whispered assurances in his ear.

"We aren't," he said. "We are nowhere near there, Kitten, and we never will be ever again." Cloud nodded against his shoulder and pressed his nose to Genesis's neck, taking in the comforting scent of the man. Genesis placed another kiss to Cloud's temple and slowly eased himself up, pulling Cloud with him and settling him in his lap as he leaned back against the wall. Cloud shifted obligingly, wrapping his arms around Genesis's waist and laying his head on his shoulder, Genesis's own arms coming around him again in a familiar embrace.

This is how it should be. He thought. His kitten, safe in his arms, warm sunlight streaming over them, the smell of antiseptic replaced with whatever air freshener had been sprayed a few days ago and the "doctors" far, far away from them. Yes, this was how it should be and it would be absolutely perfect if he was leaning against a tree on top of a hill, the grass cool against his legs, the tree providing cool shade from the summer heat, wind rustling the leaves and playing gently through his hair. The brush of fingers against his cheek broke him from his reverie and he looked down in the bright, concerned blue eyes of the blonde he held.

"Don't cry," he whispered, gently brushing the tears off Genesis's cheeks. Genesis smiled down at him and caught his hand, laying a gentle kiss on his fingers.

"I'm alright, Kitten," he said.

"But… why are you crying?"

"I'm happy."

"Happy?"

"Yes." His arm tightened around Cloud's waist, his eyes filing with a warmth reserved for his closest and dearest friends, a tear rolling down his cheek as he smiled serenely at the boy in his arms.

"You're awake."

"Who's awake?" Cloud went suddenly stiff in his arms, ducking into Genesis and trying to hide himself in his arms. Genesis's own arms tightened briefly, his eyes shooting up to the open doorway of the bedroom where Zack stood, brow deeply furrowed as he looked at the pair. Genesis let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and loosened his grip, the serene smile crossing his face again as he leaned back against the wall.

"That should be quite obvious, Zack," he said. "Why else would Cloud have moved?" Zack quirked an eyebrow at him, the confused look sending a bolt of fear down Genesis's spine. Looking down at the blonde head pressed tightly against his chest, he wondered if perhaps he was dreaming after all, that Cloud was indeed still asleep on the bed and that the body in his arms was merely a hallucination brought about by wishful thinking. But no, that couldn't be it. Cloud stirred in his arms, carefully turning his head to peak at the person in the doorway, fingers uncurling themselves slowly from the fabric of his shirt. A frown slowly began to form on Cloud's face, Zack's own countenance taking on one of hope, tentative joy and concern. Cloud jumped when he felt Genesis quickly pinch his side, twisting his skin a little so it still stung after it was let go. Casting a brief glare at Genesis, he quickly snapped his gaze back to the doorway and felt his heart start to speed up again as he took in the fact that yes, Zack was still standing there.

The two stared at each other for a long amount of time, neither willing to believe that the other existed. One waited for the scenery to shift to that of the interior of a mako reactor while the other waited anxiously for the blonde to launch himself across the room at him and start swinging. After what seemed to be an eternity, Cloud did launch himself across the room, arms spread wide and tears beginning to pour down his face. Zack barely caught him and as Cloud's arm closed around his shoulders, the blonde's face burying itself in his neck as he shook with silent sobs, he wrapped his own arms tightly around his friend a look of sheer disbelief on his face. After a few moments, he carefully drew back and urged Cloud to lift his face from his neck so he could stare down at his friend. Bright blue stared into bright blue, each examining the other before a bright smile broke across Zack's face.

"And people say I have bed head," he said, ruffling the already highly tousled blonde spikes, ignoring the tears pouring down his cheeks. A moment later and he was holding Cloud close as he laughed, the blonde having given him a furious pout that never failed to wrangle a laugh out of him. Genesis watched the pair from across the room, an oddly tender smile on his face as he watched someone else cuddling Cloud, the usual near over protective urges quelled for the moment by the content look on Cloud's face. He knew how much he had missed his friend, the brunette sometimes being the subject of their arguments in the beginning as Cloud had valiantly defended him when Genesis tried to pass him off as some stupid kid that Angeal had taken in. It had been rather adorable actually. The blonde would go on for a while and let something slip which then allowed Genesis to tease him mercilessly about how Zack had gotten Cloud and Sephiroth together. The story still made him smile even now.

Sephiroth standing just behind Zack in the hallway erased it, however. The man's gaze was focused on the blonde spikes peeking up over Zack's shoulder, warring between his instinct to gather the blonde up into his own arms and the reminder that the last time the two had met he had ended up in the hospital. Genesis had to give him credit for not flinching or backing up a step when Cloud slowly peeked over Zack's shoulder, the two meeting and holding each others' gazes. Zack and Genesis remained still, each holding their breaths and keeping an eye on each man, Zack's arms tightening a fraction around Cloud's small waist.

Hope began to build in Sephiroth's heart the longer he stared into those wide, endless blue eyes, the mako green and cold rage from before absent. His heart began to swell further as those eyes became brighter, not with rage, but with joy and recognition at seeing him, a small hand beginning to reach for him, the body drawing away from Zack. Recognition faded to surprise with a blink, the joyful eyes fading into a frown, then a scowl until those eyes were closed to him completely and the boy in Zack's arms straightened to his full height, raising his chin and glaring at him. It would have made a lesser man curl into himself and scurry away but Sephiroth just stared back, his face unreadable to those that didn't know him.

Both Genesis and Zack did. They saw the hope in Sephiroth's eyes die as Cloud turned away from him, smiling up at Zack and looking over to Genesis with warm affection. As Cloud's bright voice broke the silence, Genesis smiled but kept glancing between Sephiroth and Cloud. Zack, he noticed, was doing the same and so both caught the little bow of the head the man gave before walking down the hall and out of the apartment, both feeling for their friend whose lover spurned him twice in just a few days. Sephiroth quietly closed the door to the apartment, hand lingering lightly on the door knob. Absently, he listened as the three left inside began to converse, Zack's bright voice talking animatedly to Cloud though the words were hard to distinguish for some reason.

Perhaps his hearing was beginning to be effected. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself away from the door and wandered back into his own apartment, grabbing his gym bag and a change of clothes before wandering back out, mind absently running over the exercise regimen he could start. His ears picked up the sounds of voices playfully arguing as he headed down the hall, the voices raised as they teased back and forth and a part of him longed even more to return. The logical part of his mind, stating that his presence would only serve to agitate the blonde and therfor the others, forced the urge back and carried him into the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed and blocked the sound form his ears, he couldn't help but wonder which he preferred: Cloud's clear and cold rejection or the blonde beating him in a fiery rage?


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry it took me! This one was kind of hard to write too. Reno and Zack weren't cooperating with me at all. Well, I guess this just means that I can mess with them next time! Take that! As always, thank you to my wonderful Koi for betaing and thank you guys for reading! Tell me what you think please and enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing.

* * *

Chapter 10

The lab was quiet. Machines hummed, keys and mouses clicked, chairs creaked, pens scratched against paper. The lights in the room were dim, the blue glow from the monitors providing enough to see by and reflecting off the faces of those hunched before them. Technicians flicked their gazes from one screen to the next checking on the many decryption programs running. At this time of night, when most of the computers in the complex were shut down, the large processors could temporarily hijack the network they operated on thus speeding up the process. Not by much but a little extra speed was greatly appreciated especially when they only had about thirty percent of the files decoded. After a week and a half. Yeah, that computer screen looked just about the perfect size to ram his head through.

"Do it and it's coming out of your pay check," Tseng said, eyes not leaving the files in his hands.

"Can I break something later?" Tseng glanced over at the red head slumped in front of the computer terminal. His fingers were buried in his hair, eyes opened wide to keep them from slipping shut in boredom and every few seconds he'd swipe at his twitching nose.

"We'll see. Go get some sleep, Reno."

"Don't want to."

"Why?"

"'Bout to make a break through or somethin', yo."

"A break through?"

"Yeah."

Tseng just shook his head and settled a little more into his far too comfy chair. Well, now he knew what the techs spent a good portion of their allotted budget money on. He turned the page in the file he was reading, comparing the observational notes to the written ones Reno had handed him a few hours ago. He'd already read Reno's notes through twice and now as he looked between the printed out notes and Reno's he still didn't see what had the red headed Turk so excited. The man had nearly beaten his door down banging on it that morning, interrupting his usual morning routine and confusing the hell out of him. His usual lazy demeanor had been replaced with nearly bouncy excitement, well, bouncy for Reno anyway, and he had spent most of the morning on Tseng's couch with the notebook open on the coffee table explaining the "new development" he had discovered. Which had made very, very little sense.

"Remind me again why this is a development?" he said quietly. Reno rolled his eyes and stretched, cracking his back and neck.

"You know how Genesis is super overprotective of Cloud?"

"Yes. It's rather common for those sharing similar imprisonment conditions to become close over time."

"Yeah that's what Elena said," Reno said with a snort.

"And I assume you argued with her?"

"No, just said that they're way too close for it to just be that. I mean, if Genesis had the chance to get away then he'd take it. Someone as erratic as Cloud would be left behind since he's practically useless." Tseng nodded and motioned for Reno to continue when he glanced over to him. "So Elena mentioned that maybe the freak managed to find a way to control Genesis and that's why he's so overkill protective."

"And this is why you nearly tore the door off my apartment today."

"Pretty much." Tseng just shook his head again and went back to reading the papers in his hands. Honestly, why couldn't Reno be this diligent and enthusiastic about the rest of his work? Why did he only get excited like this when there was a person that he couldn't figure out?

_Probably because he spent a good portion of his life in the slums learning to read people and doesn't like it when he can't figure them out_, his mind supplied. Plausible and very true. And really he couldn't complain because it was that very skill that saved him sometimes on his assignments, the ability to read someone and figure them out in five sentences or less allowed the redhead to play to the person's weaknesses and got him to his goal. He hoped that it didn't take long for Reno to figure Genesis out. The man was already highly confusing and having someone that could tell what was going through his head would help them in figuring out what he wanted to say when he couldn't say it. They had enough problems decoding and deciphering the information in Langley's files and they didn't need Genesis adding to the problem. Not when they had another one waiting to break over their heads any minute.

Absently, Tseng noticed the change in Reno's position but took no real notice of it, assuming that the man had simply found another small detail that added to his current quest. That assumption was tossed to the wind, however, when Reno let out a choked sound of horror. Now, it was fairly common for Turks to make facial expressions whether they be disgust, anger, humor, sarcasm, mock sympathy, irritation, etc. but it was highly uncommon for them to make a noise of some sort let alone reveal true horror when there were non-Turks around that could see/hear them.

Reno was one of the best Turks at hiding behind a mask, laughing whenever something revolted or angered him and showing such things didn't work to his advantage. So when Tseng heard the noise and the sound of Reno's hand slapping over his mouth, he set his papers down quickly and looked at his fellow Turk. It took quite a lot to horrify a Turk and quite a bit more to get them to pale to that shade of white. So it was with great concern that Tseng stood from his chair and leaned over Reno's shoulder, the red head rewinding the tape to show the scene that had horrified him. The first five or so minutes were perfectly normal as far as Tseng was concerned.

Genesis was pacing the length of the room, seemingly highly agitated and jerking his hands through his hair. Though he couldn't see the man's lips, he was almost positive that he was muttering to himself. At almost five minutes exactly, he stopped at the end of his bed, hands buried in his hair and remained still for perhaps a minute or so before slowly moving to his knees. He leaned forward a little more, body hiding what he was doing though Tseng suspected that he was rummaging under the bed for something. Sure enough, Genesis pulled something from under the bed and after a long few moments of consideration he bent forward a little more and lifted a long, slim black square to the back of his neck. A magnet and a powerful one at that judging by how quickly the square attached itself to Genesis's neck.

Genesis gave a great lurch, his head snapping back and his back arching, mouth open in a soundless cry of pain. He fell onto his side, body twitching and contorting as the magnet continued to cling and short out whatever electrical item had been implanted into his neck. As the contortions continued, Genesis reached a shaky hand back to his neck, fingers sliding off the square the first two tries and finally wrapped around it the third.

"Third time's the charm," Reno muttered humorlessly. Tseng merely nodded and hid a wince as Genesis ripped the magnet from his neck. The video paused when Genesis fell to the floor of the cell. With a sigh, Tseng ran a hand over his face and retook his seat. For a few moments, while he processed this new speck of information, he heard Reno typing away at the key board, bringing up the observational notes for that day if they had been decoded.

Knowing Reno, he probably had all of the observational notes for most of the cells decoded so it wouldn't take long to bring up the data. What the hell could have been in Genesis's neck that could have caused him to do that? Had it been a chip of some sort? A tracking device? Controlling device? Honestly he wouldn't be surprised if it did both.

"Personality control device," Reno muttered softly. Tseng sat up again and looked over Reno's shoulder at the observational data he had pulled up.

"Subject appears to have discovered the purpose of the latest procedure and has taken steps to… remove… the receiver…." Silence fell on the pair. Reaching over, Tseng took the mouse from Reno and began saving and closing the windows.

"Hey! Boss--!"

"Go and get some sleep, Reno."

"But--!"

"You can't guard people when you're not fully conscious."

"Why do they even need a guard?"

"Because with Strife awake there's little doubt that the two of them will get bored in the apartment and I have severe doubts that all of SOLDIER has forgotten about Genesis's desertion."

"And?" Tseng paused and looked down. Reno's gaze was fixed on the screen, trying to absorb as much information as possible before Tseng closed all of them. He knew it wasn't a trick of the light, that glint he saw in Reno's eyes as he flicked back and forth from one screen to the other was as real as he was. Tseng just shook his head and closed out the last of the windows on the screen before moving to the other.

"And it's a good opportunity to observe them without them being suspicious as to your motives," he whispered. A quick grin passed across Reno's face before he heaved a loud (fake) sigh and hauled himself out of the chair.

"Fine, fine. Why do I always have to get babysitting duty?" he grumbled and grabbed his jacket form the back of the chair.

"Because you're lazy as hell and aren't suited for much else," Tseng returned. Reno just snorted and nudged his leg as he passed on the way to the door. Tseng caught the grateful look and nodded in return, turning back to the screen to finish saving the work and see where Reno had left off. When the door slid shut, Reno heaved a sigh of relief and quickly headed towards his apartment. Tseng was right, he wouldn't do any good at all tomorrow if he was dead on his feet. Another grin passed across his face at that thought. Observing the subject in person was really much better than video and written data. He could hardly wait.

~*~

"Fucking Sephiroth and his damn overly persistent—'Oh don't worry, Zack, my arm feels completely fine now. I can totally do an all day work out no problem.' My ass! He just wants to push himself so hard that he finally gives me a fuckin' heart attack or get so damn pissed that I actually start a damn fight and kick his ass! That god damn, fucking, mule headed, a—"

"Zack?" Zack nearly dropped the carton of eggs he was holding as he whirled around to face whoever stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Cloud stared at him, head cocked to the side in curious confusion and half hidden by the doorway. His hair was ruffled from sleep and he was still dressed in his sweats and t-shirt, probably woken by Zack's ranting and banging around the kitchen.

"Sorry, Spiky, did I wake you up?" he asked, setting the eggs on the counter behind him. Cloud shook his head and walked into the kitchen.

"No. I was already up."

"Oh. Well, want breakfast? I'm making pancakes." Cloud regarded him for a moment, eyes narrowing a little in consideration.

"With blue berries and chocolate chips." At that Cloud gave a sharp nod and a small smile and sat down at the table. Zack grinned and reached for the flour. For a while Cloud watched Zack work, the brunette humming to himself as he mixed ingredients and chopped up some fruit for a fruit salad. It was always a fun thing to watch, Zack moving as though something was on fire and he had no idea how to put it out when in actuality he had everything perfectly under control. His lips twitched into a small smile as he remembered the rare days off he had from training and when Zack didn't have that much to do. He'd wake him up early and drag him up to his apartment and stuff him so full of fluffy pancakes he thought his mother's prediction would come true and that he'd actually turn into one. The image of him turning into a huge, fluffy, Cloud shaped pancake made his smile stretch even further and the addition of Zack chasing him around the apartment trying to eat him startled an abrupt laugh out of him.

"You ok, Spiky?" he asked, pausing in mixing the batter for the chocolate chip pancakes. Cloud looked up at him and nodded, a wide smile on his face as he giggled.

"Just thinking."

"Of?"

"Of the times when you'd drag me out of the barracks and try to turn me into a pancake." Zack grinned and dumped the rest of the small bag of chocolate chips into the batter.

"You needed to gain a couple pounds! And the energy from them would help you in your training!"

"You were just trying to make me fat."

"That, too. Can you get some plates down please? They're in corner cabinet to my left." Cloud stood and kicked Zack lightly on the leg as he passed to get the plates. Zack laughed and began to pour the batter onto the sizzling pan. This was the perfect way to start the day. Cooking breakfast, Cloud awake to joke with and set the table. The only thing missing was Sephiroth coming in and demanding his morning cup of coffee like the bear he usually was on the rare mornings he didn't have to been in at some god awful hour.

"Cloud? What are you doing up, kitten?" Genesis coming in and latching onto Cloud was a very poor substitute. Cloud didn't even squeak as he usually would when someone came up and wrapped their arms around him from behind. He just continued to gather the dishes and set them on the counter before leaning back into Genesis and setting his hands on the red head's arms.

"I couldn't get back to sleep and I was hungry." He said. Genesis tightened his grip a little and placed a gentle kiss on Cloud's temple.

"You could have woken me up and I'd have gotten something for you."

"But Zack's making breakfast and I've been in bed for too long."

"You still should have woken me up." Cloud smiled softly and turned in his arms, giving him a brief hug before gathering the dishes and breaking from Genesis's loosened hold to set the table. Genesis watched him for a moment before turning to the coffee maker that Zack had started not too long ago, picking up one of the mugs he had set there by habit and poured himself a cup. Zack had to shake himself and force his attention back to making breakfast, the image of Sephiroth having nearly the exact same conversation with Cloud years ago so strong that his memory nearly tricked himself into thinking it was Sephiroth standing a few feet away from him instead of Genesis. The only difference between the two scenes was that Sephiroth wouldn't be content with just a hug, he'd sweep the blonde into a kiss so deep that Cloud would be dazed for almost two full minutes, allowing Sephiroth to hold onto him for a little bit longer before he shook himself and went to complete the same chore he was working on now.

"Your pancakes are going to burn," Genesis said, causing Zack to jump and turn towards the stove. Quickly removing the batch from the pan, Zack poured the last of the blueberry batch into the pan and turned to cutting up the rest of the fruit.

"Are they done yet?" Cloud asked. Zack snorted and barely glanced up from the strawberries he was cutting.

"The blueberry ones are almost done and I haven't cooked the chocolate ones yet so just wait." A knock sounded at the front door.

"And you can put the pancakes and fruit on the table while Genesis goes to answer the door." Genesis arched an eyebrow at him, coffee mug raised to his lips as he leaned back against the counter.

"Do I look like the door man?"

"Have you ever seen Cloud in a morning sugar fix?" The eyebrow arching higher gave him his answer and Zack had to repress the laugh trembling in the back of his throat. You really wouldn't know it if you looked at him but Cloud had a sweet tooth to rival his own and his was pretty bad. He could sit on the couch and eat an entire jumbo sized bag of sour candy in an hour. Cloud could do the same only it was two bags instead of one.

"I'm not that bad."

"You're worse than me."

"No I'm not."

"Yeah you are."

"You're all horrible people for not knowing how to answer a friggin door." Reno stood in the doorway to the kitchen looking like his usual rumpled self only slightly more grumpy. Zack quirked an eyebrow at him and tossed the last of the fruit into the bowl.

"What're you doing here?" he asked. Reno grinned and snagged a piece of fruit from the bowl Cloud set on the table as he flopped into a chair.

"Breakfast." Zack snorted.

"And?"

"And…. I'll tell you after I eat, yo. You know breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Zack just rolled his eyes and smacked Cloud's hands away from the plate of chocolate chip pancakes.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're here to tell us something that'll make one of us want to break something? Namely you?"

"No idea, yo." Shaking his head, Zack slid the last of the pancakes onto the plate and poured the large amount of scrambled eggs into the pan, stirring them around so they'd cook evenly.

"Make yourself useful then, red, and make sure Cloud doesn't eat all the pancakes." Cloud scowled and kicked Zack in the back of the leg as he made his way towards the fridge. Reno snorted and shook his head. Once the eggs were done and the food was set on the table, the group took their seats and began to fill their plates. Zack snorted in amusement as he saw Cloud's eyes narrow when Reno started reaching for the plate of chocolate chip pancakes.

"If you want to keep that arm, red, I'd let Cloud get the first of those," he said. Reno paused and glanced up at the brunette.

"Is he as bad as you are?"

"Worse. Ow! Spiky!" Cloud merely raised an eyebrow at him and piled six of the pancakes onto his plate, reaching for the chocolate syrup and nearly drenching them.

"You're going to go into a diabetic coma if you eat that much sugar at once, kitten," Genesis said, beginning to fill his own plate but making no move to take some of the sugar from Cloud's.

"Will not," said the blonde, taking the first bite of actual, home cooked food in… a very long time he realized. With a frown, he tried to think back to when he had last eaten something not served on a cold metal tray. Time had begun to blend together shortly after he had arrived in that place, hooked up to machines and lying in a bed, it had seemed like a hospital at first. At first…. A ringing began in his ears, low at first then louder as he tried to recall more of where ever that place was. All he could remember at the moment was white. Pure, untainted, empty, cold white. It seemed as if everything there had been white but he knew it wasn't. Why… why couldn't he….

_Don't try and remember right now_, a voice whispered close to his ear, a faint touch to his shoulder dispelling the white fog and ringing.

_Just concentrate on the present. You don't need to remember right now. It's not important._

_But…._

_Hush and eat. Your breakfast is getting cold_. He gave a slow nod and began eating the other half of his breakfast, letting his mind register the sugar and invade his system in a pleasant buzz. A chuckle sounded next to him, the clumping of heavy boots accompanying it as they moved around the room.

_And make sure Genesis actually eats. He's been so busy worrying himself sick that he hasn't been keeping up with that even though he knows it's bad for him_.

_I will._

"Will what?" With an almost violent start, Cloud looked up from his plate and glanced around the room, Reno to his left, Zack to his right, Genesis across from him. Genesis swallowed the food in his mouth and cocked his head to the side slightly, silently asking while Zack and Reno stared with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"Will what, Spiky?" Zack asked, placing a hand on Cloud's wrist. Cloud stared at it for a moment before stabbing another piece of his breakfast and shook his head.

"Nothing." Zack quirked an eyebrow but shrugged and went back to eating and his conversation with Reno. Cloud hid a smile as he continued to eat, listening to the boot clumps as they moved around the room, from behind him to Zack, watching the boy with a certain fondness before turning to Genesis, the boot clumps moving to stand behind him and place light hands on his shoulders. Cloud followed the gaze from the top of Genesis's head down to his face and further to his empty plate. As the red head picked up his coffee mug and took a few sips from it, he made no move to get any more.

_He'll get sick if he keeps this up_. Wordlessly, Cloud reached for the plate of eggs near him and passed them to Genesis who blinked at him, took the plate, piled some on and reached for the bacon.

"So," Genesis said, when Zack stuffed a piece of toast his mouth. "What brings a Turk by so early in the morning? I thought you only went out at night."

"Common misconception," said Reno. The Turk leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head looking highly amused.

"It just so happens that my latest assignment needs me to be awake during the day light hours."

"I thought the brothels were only active at night." Reno pouted.

"That hurt, yo."

"You'll live. I'm not that hungry, Cloud." Cloud ignored him and slipped some more fruit onto his plate. Genesis just shook his head.

"So what is this exciting new assignment then?" Zack asked, prompting another grin from Reno.

"I am so glad that you asked, Zackey-boy—"

"You aren't blowing something up are you?"

"Nope."

"Protecting something?"

"Someone."

"….If it's Aerith I'm going to skin you alive."

"Course not, yo! Chris and Claire are heading out there now so Mary and Marshall can come back."

"Good. Who is it then?" Reno's grin nearly split his face in half this time.

"You're eatin' breakfast with 'em, yo." Silence fell on the group.

"We don't need a babysitter," Genesis said quietly. The look on his face nearly sent Reno under the table in fright but he held himself together, merely smirking at the man next to him.

"Not my decision, yo. Boss man told me a couple hours ago and here I am."

"Then you can go back and tell boss man that we don't need a babysitter."

"He's not going to listen."

"Then I'll tell him." Genesis growled, standing from his seat with a screech of his chair legs.

"Finish eating first." Cloud's voice made him pause and look at the blonde, meeting the blue eyes staring at him through blonde bangs. Blue eyes shining with a hint of green in the corners. With a sigh, Genesis shook his head and resigned himself to actually eating his fill, the look on Cloud's face telling him quite clearly that he really had no choice in the matter. As Zack and Reno resumed their conversation, each a little hesitant, Genesis raised his fork to his mouth and paused. A chill, as familiar to him as the feeling of his wings unfurling from his back in preparation for flight, rushed down his spine and pooled into an icy pit in his stomach. Something, he wasn't sure what, was moving. The very air around him shifted with it, anticipation beginning to crawl slowly across his skin.

_Not yet_, his mind whispered to him. _Not today. Tomorrow. The storm will break tomorrow_. Genesis was not afraid of storms. He had once landed on the shores of Wutai during a fierce hurricane, rain pelting him in stinging bullets, the waves tossing the boat so much that he and the SOLDIERs with him had to leap off the ship and fight the water to make it to land. Back home, he had always run out into the rain despite his mother's calls and Angeal's warning about lightening and played in it until someone dragged him inside. He loved thunder and the streaks of lightening, the loud crashes and bright flares making his heart race in his chest. Yes, he had never been afraid of storms. Except this one. This one caused the chill and ice to spread throughout his body, his heart to race and his skin to crawl.

_Tomorrow_, was whispered in his ear again. Yes. Tomorrow. The food in Genesis's mouth turned to ash, his throat closing to choke him with it as the tension grew in his spine. Hopefully the sun would explode before then.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Ha! I'm still alive! It just took me forever since no one wanted to cooperate with me. Sorry about that guys! The next one will be up sooner, I swear. Also, some of you have said that this needs more advertising. *Blush* Thank you! I say, if you want to advertise it, go for it since I tend to sound like a review whore if I try to advertise it so if you'd like to go right ahead! I will be greatly honored that you think it deserves it. Thanks again to my Koi for betaing as always betaing and by the way! She's doing the prequel! No idea when it'll be up but it should be pretty soon so be sure to keep an eye out for it and I'll post when it's up on my profile. Thank you guys for waiting and thank you for reading. Let me know what you think please!

Note: In an earlier chapter I had said that Langley's lab was in the north but when we were plotting something, my Koi and I found that it works better if it was in the south. Just wanted to point that out before people got confused. Thank you and I'll leave you alone now.

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing!

* * *

Chapter 11

Rufus swore and slammed the phone back into the cradle. That was not the phone call he wanted. Shoving the blankets off, he swung himself out of bed and stalked into the connected bathroom, all thoughts of going back to sleep forgotten. He finished his shower in record time, dried and combed his hair back and tugged on his suit, grabbing his mobile from the night stand and dialing Tseng's number.

"My office. Ten minutes." He didn't even wait for the man to reply before snapping the phone shut and shoving it into his pocket. Honestly. Couldn't people wait to deliver bad news until after the sun had risen? Of course not. That'd make his life just too damn easy. Fuck. The sound of the fax machine running met his ears as he walked into his office. Snarling, he snatched the papers from the machine and flopped into his chair, beginning to scan through them. The letter from the police chief was first and quickly set aside, the coroner's results being laid down on top of that and the notes on the scene on top of that. He'd read them later. All he wanted to see at the moment was the pictures which apparently hadn't been sent yet. Sighing, Rufus rubbed his forehead and listened to the fax running. He had started to wonder why the research team he had sent to Mideel hadn't checked in or arrived yet and now he had his answer. The ship they were on had come into port six hours late, eerily silent and the crew apparently absent.

The dock hands had waited, watching the ship for any signs of movement, watching as the waves made the small ship bob on the water. After a long handful of minutes, the deck hands had gotten a ramp and attached it to the ship, climbing aboard and stared. Red painted the deck of the ship in long stripes and patches, twisted lumps littering the sturdy wood. The lights from the dock glinted off the dark puddles and shiny metal of drawn weapons. Spreading the pictures out on his desk, Rufus began to examine each one, careful not to linger too long on the bodies and tracing his fingers lightly over long gouges he could see in the walls.

"Who would you like me to send, sir?" Tseng asked quietly, shuffling through the papers Rufus had set aside. Rufus didn't glance up from the pictures, eyes continuing to flick across the glossy images.

"Claire and Chris have arrived in Junon correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"And Mary and Marshall are arriving later today?"

"And being given the day off tomorrow as well."

"Hm." Rufus flicked through the remaining Turks, weighing each option. "Send Koda and Don," he said after a minute. "And make sure that Koda is handling the note taking. The last time Don did it I nearly had to call for a translator."

"I'll make sure he knows, sir." Rufus nodded. The pair worked in silence for a few moments, Tseng reading and Rufus looking over the pictures. There were a lot of pictures. He set the ones from the top deck aside, already having looked through them and moved on to the bridge and lower decks. It was a similar scene in each photo. Blood painted the walls and floor, one body at least in each picture, more in others. The cabins where the passengers stayed were torn apart, the doors ripped off or dangling on the hinges, the bodies splayed on the beds or floor, blood everywhere. Rufus was so glad that he hadn't eaten anything that day as his stomach twisted. The deeper into the ship the photos went, the more gouges there were. Most were on the walls but there were some on the floors and in the people.

"What kind of blade could do this type of damage?" he asked. Tseng set the papers down and looked over his shoulder, carefully examining each of the pictures and the gouges. With a frown, Tseng picked one up and examined it more closely.

"Not any that I recognize. Perhaps a sword but the wielder would have to be incredibly strong and the blade rather small to make gouges like this."

"Hm. But there aren't many that strong…." Rufus's frown deepened and he flipped to the last picture. It took him a moment to recognize what he was looking at, the plain steel wall seeming unremarkable at first until the words registered in his mind. The letters were sharp and gouged deeply into the wall, each slash deliberate and painted red to make them more noticeable in the dark. Grabbing a pen and a note pad, he wrote them down, setting the picture aside. He puzzled over it for a few moments, the meaning alluding him until something from a few days prior struck him.

"Tseng, please call Reno and have him inform Genesis that I would like to see him in my office within the hour."Not looking up from the papers in his hands, Tseng flipped his phone open and hit a number, calling Reno. Tracing a finger over the words in the picture, Rufus couldn't suppress the shudder that shot down his spine. He had a feeling that whatever had done this could and would do a whole lot more damage. It was only a matter of time.

~*~

Heaving a sigh, Reno shut his phone and rolled out of bed. What the hell was so important that he needed to bring Genesis up to the president's office in an hour? Couldn't it have waited until the sun was up? Shaking his head, he tugged on a clean suit and pulled his hair back, wandering across the hallway to the open door of the room Genesis and Cloud shared. Poking his head into the room, he couldn't deny that the two were awfully adorable. Genesis slept with his back to the door, body no doubt shielding the little blonde that was tucked up against him. He could just make out a spike or two over Genesis shoulder but that was it. To be honest, Reno didn't really want to disturb them. They just looked too damn cute. The moonlight streaming in through the window gave the scene a more peaceful glow, making Reno wish that he had a camera.

"Is there something you need, Turk?" came a low growl from the bed. Reno blinked and straightened, stepping into the room to meet the glare Genesis sent at him.

"Man. Why'd you have to go and ruin the image yo?" Genesis's eyes narrowed, glinting faintly in the moonlight. Reno held his hands up in surrender, smirking as usual and filing the picture away.

"I come in peace. Boss man wants to see you in the President's office a.s.a.p."

"And this couldn't wait until later?"

"Nope. Said a.s.a.p. so a.s.a.p. it is. And no I don't know what it's about so there's no use asking." Genesis opened his mouth to growl something but Cloud shifting beside him distracted him.

"Gen?" Genesis ran a hand through Cloud's hair and kissed his forehead.

"Go back to sleep, kitten. Rufus just wants to see me for a couple minutes."

"I'm awake."

"You don't have to be."

"What does he want you for?"

"I'm not sure."

"Oh." Cloud paused for a moment before sitting up, blinking at Reno a moment before looking back to Genesis.

"I'm coming with you."

"Kitten…."

"I'm awake. I'll come with you." Genesis heaved a sigh after a moment before dragging himself out of bed. Reno bit his lip to keep the wolf whistle in, the moonlight playing off his pale skin and well toned arms and chest making it a very difficult task to accomplish. He wasn't bulky but he wasn't a stick either. Everything seemed perfectly balanced, the long hours of training and sword work building him into a lean, strong fighter.

"If you're done ogling," Genesis said, stepping closer and grabbing the door. "I suggest you leave and we'll meet you in the living room in five minutes." With that, he nearly slammed the door in Reno's face, the red head stepping back just in time so the door wouldn't smack him in the nose.

"Geez," he muttered. "Just admiring the view." A loud thump against the door told him what Genesis thought about that. Shaking his head, Reno flopped onto the couch and settled in to wait. He knew Genesis had said five minutes but knowing him and his oh so deep love for the president he'd be waiting a while.

~*~

Painting an irritating smirk on his face, Genesis followed Reno into the office and met Rufus's irritated glare.

"Reporting as ordered, sir," he said. He gave the man a rather sloppy salute and flopped into one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"It's about time you got here," Rufus grumbled. Before Genesis could respond, a stack of papers was held out to him. Genesis blinked slowly at them, mako green bleeding into his eyes a little as he glared at the president.

"If you think I'm taking a mission then—"

"These are not mission papers." Rufus said. Genesis looked from him to the papers, considering for a long moment before taking them from him and beginning to flip through them. After a few pages he snorted and glanced up at the other blonde, turning the pictures away from Cloud when he tried to peek at them over his shoulder.

"You called me in here at five in the morning for a mass murder on a boat? Forgive me if I seem at all ignorant but isn't that a job for the police?"

"Look through all of them, Rhapsodos." Rufus growled, glaring at the red head. Genesis snorted and tossed the papers back onto the desk.

"Why? This isn't exactly something that I'm going to be taking care of."

"At four o'clock this morning," Tseng started. "We received information from the Eagle's Cove police department detailing an attack on a ship carrying a ShinRa research team returning from the Mideel area. The team and the ship's crew had been murdered sometime during the voyage. Piracy is not an option considering how close the islands are to the mainland and no evidence to support the theory has been found." Snorting again, Genesis leaned back in his chair and waved a hand through the air, tugging Cloud back to him by the wrist when he tried to get the pictures from the desk.

"And what exactly does this have to do with me?" he asked.

"I was hoping that you would be able to tell us seeing as how you were so worried about something getting out of that lab a few days ago."

"Could've been a monster attack."

"There'd be more damage."

"Not if it were a little one."

"There have been no signs to suggest it other than the gouges in the walls."

"Still possible."

"I couldn't have taken out that many people."

"Could've been more than one."

"Monster blood isn't just red, you know that."

"Seventy percent of it is."

"One would have been killed at least."

"And the other could have dragged the body off the ship."

"There'd be a trail."

"Not if it could fly."

"There's no monster like that."

"According to you and we still don't know how many there actually are out there."

"You're pulling this out of your ass and you know it."

"And yet you haven't proven me wrong."

"I expected better from you." Reno, who had been watching the two argue, glancing between them like he was at a tennis match, waited for Genesis's return. The man opened his mouth, ready to retort before the words finally registered in his mind. He snapped his mouth shut, eyes narrowing at the smug looking president. Cloud carefully slipped off the arm of the chair he had perched himself on and back up a foot or two.

"Excuse me?" Genesis asked softly after a moment. Rufus's chair creaked as he leaned back, fingers laced together, elbows resting on the arms of his chair, completely smug. The tension in the room rose.

"I expected more from you." He repeated. Genesis snarled and surged from his chair, barely catching the pile of photos as Rufus moved at the exact same moment and threw them at him. In his surprise, he was only able to catch three, the rest fluttering to the floor.

"Look at the last photo, Rhapsodos." Eye twitching, Genesis flipped through the three pictures in his hands. He must've found the one Rufus was talking about because the snarl immediately dropped from his face to be replaced with denial and, if Reno wasn't seeing things, trace amounts of apprehension.

"If this is some kind of joke," he started.

"I assure you, it's not." Genesis let out a rattling breath and slowly sat down again, eyes fixed on the picture. He didn't even try to hide it from Cloud this time as the blonde looked over his shoulder. Silence reigned and Reno was afraid to breath incase he made the tension in the room explode into chaos.

"She got out," Cloud whispered and let Genesis drag him into his lap.

"Who?" Genesis tightened his hold on Cloud, showing no signs of talking in the next few minutes. Cloud looked away from the picture and didn't even flinch when he met Tseng's and Rufus's gazes.

"Paige."

~*~

"_Gen, why are you flying away from me?! Come back here! Stop it! Come back!" Screeching metal and running footsteps before she launched off the wall towards him. The muscles in his back and shoulder screamed in protest as he shot higher, gaining the precious feet needed to avoid her. He didn't feel any guilt when she missed and crashed to the floor below. Heaving air into his lungs, he let the relief wash over him, glad for once to see the "doctors". As they took her kicking and screaming from the room, he landed and let his wing disappear in a fall of black feathers. The "doctors" led him to the small med lab connected to the room and began to check him over, cataloging his injuries, checking his vitals. He allowed it, glad to be away from her, glad they had taken her away. She had gotten stronger since the last time, making it much more difficult to hold back against her. _

'_Perhaps it would be better if I didn't.' he thought. _

"_I don't like her," Cloud whispered. Genesis cracked an eye open, looking at the blond huddled under his blankets._

"_Who?"_

"_Paige." _

"_You've met her?"_

"_Yeah. She hates me." _

"_She's psychotic. I wouldn't think much of her if I were you."_

"_Yeah." _

"_Do you not like me, Gengen?" He snarled and threw her back, sword raised to defend himself should she bounce back like she always did. Her claws dug into the metal floor, sparks flying as she slid to a stop. Glaring at him, she pulled herself up slowly, gold glinting under her bangs. _

"_I'm just trying to be friendly!" With a burst of speed, she shot forward, swiping at him, snarling and screeching the more he dodged and deflected her. He was used to much faster speeds and stronger hits though the agility did surprise him a little. _

'_Must be because she's Wutaian. Fucking lovely. Those bastards were easy as birds to catch on a good day.' With a small snarl of his own, he deflected another swipe and swung a sharp kick to land the toe of his boot hard against her temple. Her head snapped to the side, the force knocking her off her feet and a few feet away, landing in a crumpled heap. Nodding to himself he turned and made his way towards the door to the med clinic, cracking his neck. Ripping fabric and cool metal against his back stopped him. _

"_Now, Genesis. Isn't it rude to leave a lady hanging?" she whispered in his ear. "Ne? Genesissss?" The metal pressed harder against his skin, the sharp tops of the talons digging into his skin. The girlish giggle sounded warped and wrong coming from her. _

"_You aren't going to leave me alone here with no one to play with are you, Genesis?"_

"_You don't need me for a playmate." _

"_But I don't want anyone else. Just. You." Supressing a wince as her claws dug deeper into his back, he straightened and tightened his grip on his sword. She sensed it, he was sure, and leapt away as his sword split the air centimeters from her head. Laughing, she landed in a crouch and grinned up at him, gold eyes flashing through the fringe of her bangs. _

"_I thought you didn't hit girls," she purred. _

"_I don't. Merely threaten them with bodily harm is all," he returned, smirking and letting his wings unfurl behind him. Her grin quickly warped into a dark scowl as feathers danced to the ground, eyes narrowing in rage. _

"_That's cheating," she hissed. With a chuckle, he raised himself two feet into the air and floated there._

"_All's fair in love and war." _

"_Humph." Sparks flew as her claws clashed against the steel of his sword and the battle began again_.

He had lost count of how many times he had faced her. He couldn't even remember when he had first met her, the days had blurred together too much by then to make any time distinction possible. The "battles", as the "good doctors" had termed them, were laughable at first as the girl was nothing more than that, a girl who had no idea what she had signed up for. He hadn't faced her very often at first, the times so spaced apart that he had just enough time to forget about her before he was faced with her again. To be honest, he hadn't taken any real notice of her until the first time she knocked him flat on his ass. Then he started to pay attention. Perhaps it was a good thing since it was around that point that he actually had to try to end her off, her aggression, strength, speed and anger growing each time they met. Not to mention he had begun to question her sanity around that time. She had seemed perfectly sane, scared out of her mind as well she should, but perfectly sane. But then, no one stayed perfectly sane with "doctors" like that.

_And now she's loose and no doubt heading here and the only person that may have stood a chance against her would hardly be able to stand up to me in a fight_. He was not as delusional as the others about their chances. They all expected her to just assault the building or sneak through the air ducts or some such thing but the truth was that she was so unpredictable you never knew what she was going to do sometimes until she actually did it. Especially now around people. Gaia, he could see the destruction clearly. Where ever they engaged her would become a war zone, buildings broken, perhaps even falling in on themselves, people running screaming and getting in the way, more than likely becoming human shields or projectiles, magic flying through the air to land where it may if she had managed to get her hands on any materia. Knowing her though, she wouldn't waste her time with it.

_Thank Gaia for small favors_. With a sigh born of frustration, anxiety and a smidge of depression, Genesis raked his hands through his hair and set his elbows on his knees, propping his head up with the heels of his hands. Cloud leaned against his side, perched again on the arm of his chair. He was grateful for the slight contact, the small comfort doing little to help his mood any and only reminding him of how vulnerable Cloud was at the moment.

"Is there something you'd like to add, Rhapsodos?" Rufus asked, jarring him from his thoughts before he could delve into that problem.

"Just that you're wasting your time, Mr. President," he answered. He heard someone snort, Zack or Reno most likely, and some papers rustled as they were shifted.

"It's one itty bitty girl. No matter what Langley did to her I doubt that it's all that bad," Zack said. Genesis breathed out a bitter chuckle and shook his head.

"What he did to her is not the thing you should be worried about, Zachary," he whispered.

"Then what do we need to worry about, Mr. Rhapsodos, since you seem to be so knowledgeable on the subject." The bitter laugh escaped him again and with another deep sigh, he fell back against his chair, eyes opening to stare up at the ceiling.

"I wish I knew."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Hello! Sorry it took so long guys! This monster refused to be written at first but now it's done so no worries! The next one should be fairly smooth sailing as this one leads into it pretty well. Tell me what you guys think and don't forget, BoomChick has posted the first few chatper of Falls the Shadow, the prequel to this one right here! So if you haven't read it yet make sure you do! She's writing about Zack and Sephy! On a side note, does anyone know any other good sites besides Media Minor that I can post this on? I kind of want to get it out there more. Just drop me line with any suggestions and please tell me what you think! Have fun!

Disclaimer: *Sigh* I wish.

* * *

Chapter 12

5/29/97

Shinra Airfield

06.00 hours

The airship was small, more of a cruiser than an actual ship but it would serve their purpose perfectly. Settling into the seat and strapping himself in, Koda flicked his shaggy black bangs from his eyes and glanced to his partner out of the corner of his eye. It was really no question why Tseng had decided on them for this mission. Don was a six foot five wall of muscle, black hair cut to military perfection, sharp brown eyes darting around every so often and crisp white shirt contrasting with his dark skin. Koda, in contrast was lanky in build though just as tall, his shaggy bangs fell to obscure his dark eyes and where Don had the strength, he had the speed and agility. Hopefully it would be enough to either subdue the beasty or injure it enough to force it to retreat should it still be hanging around. Unlikely, but possible.

"You have the camera, Koda?"

"In the bag." Kicking the small bag under his seat with his heel just to make sure, he nodded in confirmation and laid his head back against the head rest as the engines roared to life.

"Be sure to get the air sickness out of your system by the time we get there, Don. Throwing up all over the crime scene doesn't paint a very good picture for the Turks you know."

"Just like you showing up piss drunk on that shit you call whiskey."

"Better'n what you drink."

"Bull shit."

"Gentlemen, please make sure your seatbelts are fastened as we shall be taking off shortly. Our estimated arrival time is one hour and thirty minutes." With a sigh, Koda shut his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. An hour and a half may not seem like a long flight but it was the perfect amount of time for him to catch a nap.

~*~

SOLDIER First Class Gym

07.30 hours

With a sigh born of deep frustration, Genesis ran a hand through his hair as he followed Zack and Sephiroth into the large bottom floor of the first class gym. Unlike the top floor with its exercise equipment and shatterproof glass wall, this was a cavernous room with a large blue mat covering about seventy five percent of the floor. It was perfect for those that wanted to spar but didn't want to be limited to the VR rooms' options. Even this early in the morning there were some already warming up though they snapped to attention once they noticed the Great General in the room. Sephiroth waved a hand at them and moved to one side of the room, the door to the locker room sliding open as he approached.

"Not going to wear your leathers today, Sephiroth?" Genesis asked, following the man and tugging Cloud gently by the hand. The door hissed closed behind them, Sephiroth beginning to unbuckle his heavy jacket.

"Not today. There are some spare clothes—"

"In the first locker on the right, yes I know." Genesis said as he moved over to the aforementioned locker. The locker was really more like two or three put together holding spare clothes, shoes, cloth bandages, sports tape and a large first aid kit. Taking out two sets of clothes, Genesis handed one to Cloud, shut the locker and began to change. As he brushed is hair back from his face after pulling the tank top on, he got a strong sense of Déjà Vu. Years, centuries ago, this had been a normal routine for them: come to the gym, change, warm up, try to beat the shit out of each other, shower, dress, leave. Easy, simple, haunting. He shook himself quickly before it overwhelmed him and ruffled Cloud's hair.

"Come on! Let's go train!" Zack called from the doorway, tapping his foot impatiently. Genesis rolled his eyes, catching the amused shake of the head Sephiroth gave as he pulled his hair back.

"Very well, Zack." Zack grinned and bounced out the door, leaving the three of them to follow. Stepping out into the cool gym, Genesis curled his toes against the cold steel of the floor, quirking an eyebrow at the increased number of SOLDIERs on their level and the ones crowding against the glass above.

"You don't mind if we watch do you, sirs?" one asked.

"Just don't get in the way," Genesis responded with a smirk and stepped onto the mat. Glancing over at Sephiroth, his smirk grew.

"I wonder what they've come to see." He said after a minute. "Us sparring or you, The Great Sephiroth?" Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow at him in displeasure as he stretched, the muscles in his arms and shoulders flexing, the muscles of his back able to be seen rippling under the thin material of his shirt. Genesis all but purred. He was unsure how he felt about being in Shinra once more, and unsure where he stood with Sephiroth, but he certainly had missed this sight. Sephiroth slid to the floor in a perfect straddle; ridiculously flexible though that was one aspect Genesis could best him in. Looking at the picture it made, Genesis found he couldn't give up the opportunity.

"Glad to see you're still able to spread your legs so easily, my friend." He said with a smirk, bending backwards and planting his hands on the floor.

"Hm. Yes, but I'm not quite as limber as you seeing as how you can still get them farther over your head." Genesis barked out a laugh and quickly straightened before he fell over, planting his hands on his hips.

"When will you just admit that you're jealous of how flexible I am? You know that it just gives you something to strive for."

"Perhaps you could teach me in private later." The smirk Sephiroth sent him through his bangs sent him laughing again, a few of the spectators joining. On the edge of the mat, Zack grinned, arms crossed over his chest as he nodded in approval at his pupil, Cloud just watching confused.

~*~

Eagle's Cove Harbor

7.35 hours

The docks were understandably quiet and subdued when they arrived, the workers and none workers glancing around nervously, most likely looking for whatever could have killed all the people on the early morning ship. Quite a few of them though watched as the two Turks made their way towards it, whispers breaking out behind them when they passed. Don showed no reaction to it, eyes already scanning the ship and letting Koda watch around them in case the beasty really was still hanging around. Local police were milling around as well, snapping to attention once they noticed them approaching and waving them through to the Captain standing at the bottom of the ramp leading onto the ship. He gave them both a once over, eyes sharp despite his aged face and nodded to himself as though pleased.

"Glad you two could make it here so quickly," he said. "I am Captain Norris, head of the local police department."

"Koda and Don of the Turks. Pleasure to meet you, sir." Done said and shook the man's hand.

"Would you like a tour of the scene or would you prefer to examine it yourselves?"

"We'll look it over ourselves. Just keep your men off the ship. Have you moved any of the bodies yet?"

"Not yet. The scene is as we found it."

"Good. We'll be out of your hair shortly." Motioning to his partner, Don stepped past the Captain and walked up the ramp, taking note of the scene as he stepped on board. A click to his left let him know that Koda was already snapping photos, the camera taking in much more detail than the ones the local police had used. ShinRa technology at its finest as Rude would say. They had seen the pictures sent from the police already but actually being at the scene, stepping carefully around the bodies of the crew and the pools of blood around them, smelling the iron and decay in the air, seeing the first set of gouges in the solid steel walls made it real instead of the possibility of altered pictures to mess with the ShinRa president.

"Hm. These gouges couldn't have been made by a monster," Koda said. Don nodded in agreement, pulling out a notepad and starting to jot down some quick notes.

"Must've been a metallic weapon of some sort. We'll send the pictures and notes down to R&D when we get back." Koda murmured an affirmative and started snapping pictures again.

~*~

Grasslands outside Midgar

7.55 hours

Heaving a sigh, Mary watched the greenery below them, spotting the occasional roaming monster or chocobo as they flew towards the Chocobo farm. Just half an hour ago, they had discovered that they had lost contact with the research team in the Mythril mines so Tseng had sent her and her partner Marshall out to go check on them. Such a boring job really. They were probably either sleeping in, in transit towards the farm or mine, or just too preoccupied to notice the radio crackling.

"You know Tseng wouldn't send us out unless he actually thought there was trouble," Marshall said over the noise of the engine.

"But he also sends us out when he gets those hunches of his and half the time he's wrong."

"Better to be safe than sorry."

"So they say but I'm beginning to doubt that. How far are we from the farm?"

"Just coming up on it now." Nodding, Mary sat back in her seat, brushing her short, curly brown hair behind her ears and waited as Marshall set the chopper down a few dozen yards away from the farm. Unbuckling herself, she waited while Marshall shut it down and hopped out as soon as he nodded. The blades were spinning to a stop, kicking up a small wind that blew her hair into her face. As the rotors slowed to a stop, Mary squinted through the dying wind and carefully approached a lump of yellow lying on the ground nearby. It didn't move, which was odd as wild chocobos were skittish as hell unless you lured them with greens, and as Mary stepped closer, she noticed the blood spatter that grew into a puddle the closer she got to the carcass.

"What'd you find, Mary?" Marshall called, hopping out of the copter and walking over.

"Just a dead chocobo. Monster must've gotten a hold of it before it could run away."

"Poor thing. Let's go. The farm's just over this ridge." Nodding, Mary straightened from crouching over the bird and followed her partner towards the ridge. A sense of unease swept over her the closer they got to it. They should have heard the sounds of the chocobos waking up and calling for their breakfast by now but the faint breeze that always swept over the grasslands carried only silence to their ears. Silence and a faint trace of decay. Marshall, acting on the same impulse, slid the collapsible staff from the harness up his sleeve and curled his fingers around it, one finger against the side of the trigger that would extend it to its full length. Mary placed her hand on the gun at her hip and walked up to the top of the ridge. At first glance, it looked as though the paranoia Turks were known for had gotten the best of them but then the disemboweled chocobo six feet away proved that maybe Tseng had a reason to worry about the research team. By unspoken agreement, the pair moved down the small hill, carefully moving away from each other so as not to be in the other's way should the beastie that had gotten the chocobo, and by the looks of things every chocobo in the farm's vicinity, was still hanging around and hungry for more.

Mary gave the coral a quick twice over, taking in the lumps of red stained yellow that used to be chocobos before moving to the large barn. The doors to the building were open, one secured while the other was propped with the body of a disemboweled farm hand and a dewinged chocobo. Marshall circled around to one of the side entrances, taking note of the body pinned to the wall with a hay fork and the feathers strewn about. The side door was open a few inches, an inch or two of metal sticking through the door itself at the same height as his shoulder. Pausing by it, he waited, listening for any warning bells before reaching out and curling just the tips of his fingers around the edge of the door. He had to repress a flinch as the door let out a horrendous screech, the hinges horrifically rusty from the sound of it, as he flung it open, moving back quickly as a streak of brown swung at him. There was a grunt and a moan and Marshall nearly struck the poor man pinned to the door before he realized what it was.

"Mary! We've got a live one!" He called and reached up to carefully pull the man down. The man, who Marshall now recognized as the owner of the farm, groaned as Mary braced him against the door and Marshall wrapped a steady arm around his back, one hand reaching for the spike in his shoulder. He was barely able to choke out a scream when the metal was removed and he was carefully lowered to the floor, his throat raw from screaming. Mary pressed two fingers against the pulse in his throat and swore at the unsteady rhythm. Grabbing a nearby rag that looked mostly clean, she pressed it again his bleeding shoulder, muttering an apology when he let out a grunt of pain. Glancing up at her partner, she saw him settling his phone between his ear and shoulder as he grabbed another rag and began to check the man over for more injuries.

"Tseng," he said into the mouthpiece when their commander picked up. "We need medical assistance and two chocobos at the chocobo farm immediately. The research team isn't here but it is possible that whatever attacked the farm may go after them." He must've gotten confirmation that the medics and chocobos were being sent out as he snapped the phone shut a moment later and drew the farmer's attention to him.

"Sir, can you tell me what happened?" The farmer blinked his hazy eyes open, staring at a point just over Marshall's right shoulder and swallowed thickly.

"Was it a monster that attacked?" Marshall asked. The farmer shook his head and drew in a shaky breath.

"A-a w-woman," he stuttered. "A woman… w-walked up to John w-when he w-was putting the b-birds i-into the c-coral. D-don't know w-what she s-said b-but I h-heard t-the chocob-bos s-start s-screamin a-and the n-next thing i-I s-saw w-was her t-tearin' em a-apart. S-she w-was l-laughing."

"Do you remember what she looked like?" A spasm ran through the farmer's body as he shook his head.

"D-d-dark…. h-hair…… c-c-claws."

"He's losing too much blood," Mary whispered.

"Sir, you're going to have to stay with me alright? Just focus on me. What did she look like?" The farmer struggled to get something out as the shaking worsened, his skin loosing what remaining color it had rapidly.

"C-c-c-cl-cla-claws." Was all he was able to get out before is eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell still. Marshall quickly pressed his fingers against the man's throat, searching for his pulse. Nothing.

"Damn it." Mary said, tossing the rag away. Marshall heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"Let's keep looking around," he said after a moment. "Maybe we can find something that'll tell us if this thing was human or not."

"He said dark hair and claws," Mary said as she stood. Marshall scowled at her and dusted his pants off.

"It wasn't him so don't start with that." Mary simply waved a hand at him and began to look around the damaged barn. Shaking his head, Marshall regarded the poor farmer once more before joining his partner in investigating the remains.

~*~

SOLDIER First Class Gym

8.30 hours

Dear sweet Gaia did he feel good! He had forgotten what a good spar was supposed to feel like. His muscles stretched and sang as he dodged, kicked and punched, avoiding and giving blows as he saw fit, for fun not survival. His sharp gaze tracked his opponent, relearning the man's style as they tried to beat the shit out of each other. The sounds of the others in the gym had faded to a dull buzz in the back of his mind as those of their foot falls on the mat and the impact their fists made against skin rose up to ring in his ears. Sephiroth's eyes were narrowed on him; tracking his every move, a smirk flitting across his face every time they exchanged a blow. Genesis had no doubt that the expression was mirrored on his own face and quite a few times he had to resist a joyous laugh whenever he came close to delivering a punishing blow to Sephiroth only to have it lessened and be tossed back or dodged all together.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the blood rushing in his veins. Adrenalin shot through him, energizing him, strengthening him. The wind from a dodged blow kissed his skin, the feel of his fist slamming against damp skin radiated up his arm. A grin stretched across his face as he pushed Sephiroth back and when his fist connected with his face to send him stumbling he made the startling realization that for once, he had the upper hand. The grin transformed into a feral baring of teeth as the warrior in him rejoiced.

Sephiroth felt an unfamiliar chill race down his spine at that grin, the glow beginning behind the red head's eyes tightening the muscles in his neck. They circled each other, Sephiroth keeping his eyes locked on Genesis's, waiting for the telltale crinkle at the corners to signal when he was going to move. It came though the ferocity behind the flurry of movement took him surprise. His muscles began to strain as they moved to block and dodge every blow thrown at him. He knew going into this fight that he was not completely restored to his current level. He also knew that Genesis was perhaps stronger than before and like a green cadet he had let his usual arrogance cloud him into thinking that it would not be a problem. As he felt the first pulled blow Genesis landed on him, he realized that the tables had turned on him. And that it was a feeling he did not like at all.

Those in the room watched in awe as the two battled, some cheering on their dear General while others felt new admiration for the former General. Genesis wasn't and hadn't been as well loved as Sephiroth but he had still been respected by most, looked up to by some and considered something to strive for. The feelings of betrayal still lingered in those that watched, still festered beneath the surface but some couldn't help noticing and devouring these new sides of their superiors. Sephiroth, the feared Demon of Wutai, actually working for a victory and Genesis, the cocky, sarcastic Red General, holding it over his head and laughing as he danced around and goaded the man.

Zack and Cloud watched from the edge of the mat, Cloud's eyes wide in wonder, Zack's narrowed in worry. He had only seen this kind of frustration a few times on Sephiroth's face during their time in Hojo's hands and could see the mounting irritation and the snarl curling his lips. In just a few moments, Genesis's goading would snap Sephiroth's last cord of restraint and it would take quite a few people to restrain him before he hurt himself. Cloud on the other hand, began to recall the stories he had heard of Sephiroth, the stories Genesis had told him of his own battles and tried to memorize everything. While savage, it was stunning to watch the two twist around each other, looking and straining for the upper hand, trading blows and insults, snarling and grunting. He had never seen something so spectacular.

If they keep this up, spoke a voice to his left. They're going to hurt each other and both end up in the infirmary. He hummed in agreement but continued to watch. The presence solidified, becoming a familiar, solid, semi-transparent form slightly behind him. If he looked, he'd see the usual stern expression on the man's face, dark brows drawn together, sharp eyes watching his two friends trying to send each other into a steel wall. Cloud could feel the man's disapproval increasing the longer it lasted and the more the violence escalated. The little blond was so wrapped up in the fight that he winced as Sephiroth nearly dislocated Genesis's shoulder flipping him onto the mat.

"Enough!" The loud voice directly next to his ear caused Cloud to leap nearly a foot in the air with a yelp, Zack startling at the sudden noise from the blonde. Cloud didn't hear his concerned question, his focus drawn to the figure racing towards the other sparring pair a few feet away. As Genesis ducked under Sephiroth's high swung leg, a familiar form raced from Cloud's left, shoving himself between Genesis and Sephiroth and attempting to catch Genesis's punch before it could reach the other's chin. Wide eyed, Cloud reached out a hand, smile flitting across his face.

"Ang—" The punch went through him and hit its target perfectly sending Sephiroth to the ground.

"Cloud?" said Zack. "What is it?"

"Angeal." Said Cloud, staring at the place where the SOLDIER had been, where now Genesis was celebrating his excellent hit.

"Cloud," Zack replied, wide blue eyes blooming with concern, "Angeal is dead." Cloud merely waved a hand at him and refocused his attention on the fight, frowning as he watched Genesis goad Sephiroth into pulling himself to his feet to continue the brawl. He saw Sephiroth's eyes glint through his bangs as he pulled himself up and retook his stance, the green bright and the cat slit pupil a thin line of black down the center. Genesis grinned and launched himself at his opponent, laughing like a child as he swung his limbs around, forcing Sephiroth into defending himself.

"You've got to stop him," whispered a voice against his ear. "If Genesis keeps this up he'll put Sephiroth back into the infirmary." Cloud chewed on his lip before nodding and taking a hesitant step forward. Genesis blocked a harsh kick and snarled, rushing forward to deliver his own to Sephiroth's chest. Cloud could see the muscles straining in his arms and the line of red slowly forming as the skin began to peel away from the meat below. He watched as Genesis spun and saw a smaller section peeling away on his side when his shirt flared up. Genesis stumbled back a few paces, thumbed the blood from his lip and launched himself into the fray again, disregarding the skin peeling off his arms. Red ran freely from the wounds though Genesis paid no attention to it, neither did Sephiroth as his feet landed in the growing puddle. The bright color flew around them in arcs to splatter on the mat as they twisted and twirled around each other, Sephiroth's hair getting streaked with it and Genesis's skin losing its color. The white of the wall bore his hand prints from when he tried to struggle to his feet, attempting to get to Cloud as hands led him away. Sephiroth kicked him to the side.

Snarling fiercely, Genesis flipped and landed on his feet, launching himself forward, hand outstretched to catch the fist aimed at him. His eyes widened as he saw the blonde appear in his path, eyes bright with worry and hands reaching for him. Quickly, he swerved to the side to avoid running into him and ducked just in time to miss catching the boy as he flew towards the wall, Sephiroth's fist hovering in mid air from the impact, eyes wide and face ashen. Genesis felt his heart stop when Cloud slammed into the wall, head bouncing against the steel before he landed with a heavy thud on the ground. He twitched once and lay still.

~*~

Mythril Mine

9.00 hours

Hm. Looked like she was wrong. The glowing rocks didn't look any better with red splattered all over them. Oh well. Hopping down from her perch, she flicked her bangs from her face and daintily licked the blood from her claws. As soon as she got outside she'd wash them off to get the gunk out from the joints that way they wouldn't stick but for now she'd enjoy her treat. She hoped that Genesis would find out about them and thank her for it when she saw him in a few days. At the thought of Genesis's happiness with her, she skipped down the rocky corridor, kicking one of the heads out of her way to ricochet off the wall and skitter off. Yes. Genesis would be so happy with her. Happy enough to sweep her into his arms and apologize for leaving her alone. And she would forgive him of course and they'd destroy ShinRa and scamper off the live together forever.

Her giggle echoed in the cave and with one more indulgent lick at the red still flecking her claws, she skipped out and over to the stream, pulling the heavy gloves off and dunking them in the water. Perhaps when she got to Kalm she'd get some new clothes.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Nyah! Yay! It worked with me! Thanks for your patience guys as always and thank you Koi for betaing! If you haven't read it already, BoomChick has posted the prolouge to this called Falls the Shadow which follows Seph and Zack. Gooood story and she's jsut as mean as I am, perhaps worse. Anyway, I'll leave you guys alone and enjoy! Next one should be up soon! Enjoy the chapter guys!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

* * *

Chapter 13

"He needs to get to medical! He hit his head for Shiva's sake!" Zack yelled as Genesis gently tucked Cloud into bed and sat back.

"He's perfectly fine, Fair."

"Fine?! He's unconscious! From being thrown into a damn wall! His head bounced if you remember correctly!"

"I know that but he is fine. He's taken harder hits than that." He heard Zack take a breath to retaliate before it clicked shut, a frown of concern wrinkling his brow. Genesis gave him a small smirk and brushed Cloud's bangs from his face.

"Not everyone is kind enough to pull their punches," he said with a nod to Sephiroth. Sephiroth hummed a note that could have been agreement to anyone else. Genesis and Zack recognized it for what it was.

"Don't you dare start that again, Sephiroth," Genesis said, glaring mildly at him. "It could have been much worse. Honestly, you'd blame yourself for the hurricane that hit the southern coast of Wutai the other day if we let you and you could logically link it back to yourself. Gaia I hate it when you do this."

"My apologies, Genesis, but—"

"No one is fucking perfect. Get it through your damn head already." The muscles in Sephiroth's jaw clenched slightly before he let his gaze wander to Cloud's sleeping face.

"When will he wake up?" He asked after a moment. Genesis rolled his eyes at the obvious tactic but allowed it. Sephiroth had always been that way and it would appear that he always would.

"A few hours perhaps. A day or two at most."

"How do you know that for sure?" Zack asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Genesis rolled his eyes.

"Because he hates sleeping too long." Placing a gentle kiss on Cloud's forehead, he stood and waved the other two from the room, following them out and into the living room where he flopped onto the couch. Zack settled at the bar counter while Sephiroth took a seat in the arm chair. The group remained silent for a long moment, each caught up in their own thoughts. Finally, Zack leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor.

"He… he said he saw Angeal." Sephiroth frowned, glancing over his shoulder at Zack while Genesis made a humming noise.

"Did he? Oh well, not surprising. Angeal's always hanging around."

"What?!" Zack's head snapped up at that, eyes narrowed on the red head.

"Angeal's—"

"Dead, I know. Doesn't seem to stop him from hanging around and being a pest though."

"What are you talking about, Genesis?" Sephiroth asked. Genesis heaved a sigh and sat up, turning slightly to face his guests.

"Do you not remember what I told you a few days ago?"

"I was unconscious so enlighten me."

"Zack didn't tell you?"

"I was trying to make sure he didn't get himself hurt again." Zack said with a scowl.

"Hm. Your memory does suck." Genesis ran a hand through his hair and settled against the arm of the couch. Carefully, he examined the other two, taking in Sephiroth's narrowed eyes and Zack's glare before cracking his neck and meeting Sephiroth's inquisitive gaze.

"Cloud can see the life stream." He said simply. Sephiroth arched a brow looking wholly unimpressed by the simple explanation.

"Most can when it manifests itself." Genesis shook his head with a chuckle and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, no, my friend. He can see it when it doesn't manifest itself. He can see the people in it, those around the living, talk to them. I've no idea if he can touch them but he can see, sense, hear and converse with them. Apparently Angeal is one of those spirits that likes to check up on those he left behind. He's actually more annoying in the life stream than he was alive to be honest."

"How is he able to see it?" Genesis opened his mouth the answer before he fully registered the question. The good humor in his expression bled away, the warmth in his eyes fading to a guarded blankness as met Sephiroth's eyes.

"You always did know when the best time to get answers out of me was," he murmured. Sephiroth merely say up straighter, brow smoothing from the frown as he regarded the red head.

"You were always more talkative after a fight." Genesis stared at him for a long moment before standing abruptly and walking into the kitchen.

"Langley killed him then brought him back," he tossed over his shoulder. Zack nearly leapt from his chair at the expression on Sephiroth's face, mounting horror quickly replaced by a cool mask as Genesis reentered the room, sipping from a bottle of water.

"Langley's aim, if I remember correctly, was to be able to control life and death. Rather stupid really as the only one capable of doing that is the Goddess but then again Langley has never been called a smart man to my knowledge. He's more the kissing ass, wide eyed child, what does this button do type of scientist. And no, I don't know how many times it happened. It's a rather morbid thing to keep track of really and doesn't help you stay sane in a place like that." He took another sip of his water and quirked an eyebrow at Zack as the man stared at him.

"What?"

"Why the hell are you telling us what we want to know now when you didn't say a damn thing a few days ago?" Genesis shrugged and pushed himself off the kitchen door frame, moving to sit on the couch again.

"Because I'm always annoyingly chatty after a fight. It's how I work off excess energy. By the way, Sephiroth, Have you been practicing on the five year olds again? Some of those hits, Goddess! I think I might actually bruise." Sephiroth rolled his eyes and stood.

"Call us if anything changes with Cloud," he said shortly before walking out of the apartment, Zack close behind. Genesis merely waved them out, waiting for the door to close before falling to the side, a giddy grin stretching across his face. Another five minutes of sparring and he would have won, he knew it. He would have actually beaten the great Sephiroth and no one could dispute it. A small part of him felt bad about beating the man so harshly but then the competitive side of him, the side that had been trying for years to beat Sephiroth, snatched up the other part, stuffed it into a teeny tiny box and shipped it off to Wutai. He'd wallow in this small victory until their next bought, when Sephiroth was stronger, back to his old self and Genesis wouldn't have to hold back. He'd train Cloud in mean time. For now, to distract himself from disturbing Cloud's rest, he set his water bottle on the coffee table and moved behind the couch. Glancing once more at the open door of the bedroom, he began some pushups.

~*~

"You're not going to start sulking are you?" Zack asked, watching as Sephiroth unlocked the door to his apartment and walked inside, leaving the door open in case Zack wished to follow. He did, and shut and locked the door behind him.

"I am not going to sulk, Zack." Sephiroth responded, wandering into the bedroom for a change of clothes.

"Right." Zack crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb, watching Sephiroth carefully.

"So you aren't going to beat yourself up over the fact that Cloud moved a hell of a lot faster than either of us expected and even though you pulled your punch, you still hit him and sent him into a wall which tells me that you were royally pissed at Genesis." The blank stare he got answered his question. Heaving a sigh, he pushed off the door jamb and ran a hand through his hair.

"Seph—"

"I know it was an accident, Zack."

"So was that one time you nearly choked me to death but you still blame yourself for that." Sephiroth rolled his eyes and walked into the attached bathroom.

"I will not sulk, Zack. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to take a shower and get something to eat." Zack honestly couldn't argue with that. He had been trying for almost a year now to get some of the weight Sephiroth had lost back without success. Either he'd burn it off in a few days or he'd be so sick that he'd lose another pound or two. Not exactly helpful when trying to build muscle mass.

"Alright. Want me to cook something?"

"No, thank you. Go burn off some of that energy you still have."

"Ok. Just don't turn your phone off this time! Rufus is supposed to be getting an update from the Turks at some point about that psycho chick."

"I'll leave it on, Zack. Now shoo." Zack snorted a little but turned and left, shutting the door quietly behind him and letting his shoulders slump in defeat. Sephiroth would sulk, he just wouldn't be allowed to see it this time. Sephiroth waited until he was sure the door was shut and Zack was gone before turning on the shower and allowing the façade to fall. He had hit Cloud. It wasn't as horrible a statement as 'He had killed Cloud' but it still caused a twinge of pain in his chest that wouldn't be eased by the fact that Genesis had said the boy was fine and would wake up by tomorrow. That actually caused him to worry more. If the little blonde could shake getting knocked into a wall off just how much mako did the boy have in his system?

It had to be damn close to a first class for that to be possible and the thought made Sephiroth's fingers itch for Masamune so he could hunt Langley down and deliver him to the life stream personally. The more practical side of him, the one that had been in hiding for quite some time, rose up to push the thought away and replace it with a new one. He'd get his chance at Langley soon enough. Right now, he should just bide his time and wait patiently. They had a psychotic experiment on the loose that seemed to rattle Genesis's calm severely. It would be best to wash up, get something to eat and perhaps go down to the tech lab to see if they had any information on this Paige at all.

With a nod to himself, Sephiroth ignored the ache in his chest and washed the shampoo from his hair.

~*~

"Judging by the manner of execution and lack of apparent signs of a monster attack, the research team stationed in the Mythril Mine was killed by the same one that attacked the ship in Eagle's Cove," Tseng reported, face blank and tone matter of fact. "The bodies have been collected are going through autopsy now to determine if there are any clues that point to something else occurring though the likelihood of it is very slim according to Marshall's report. According to Mary and Marshall's account, the deceased farmer, Raymond Bishop, claimed that someone with long dark hair and claws was the assailant at the farm. That was all we were able to get out of him as he died shortly thereafter from his wounds. Photos and collected evidence from both scenes have been sent to the science team as well for examination."

"Do we have any idea where the experiment is at the moment?"

"We do not. Director Lazard has sent out a team of disguised SOLDIERs consisting of two third classes, two second classes and one first class. Cissnei has gone with them and will keep us updated. Don and Koda are on their way back from Eagle's Cove at the moment and should arrive within the next few hours."

"I see. Do we have a picture of her yet?" Elena shook her head and straightened.

"Not yet. Rhapsodos was able to tell us that she was wutaian so that will help with the search at least a little. The tech team says that they've decoded maybe a quarter of the total data and half of the files pertaining to the experiment Sword which we've come to learn is Paige, the escaped experiment. They will keep us updated on their progress."

"Hm. That doesn't help us much." Sighing, Rufus settled back in his chair and rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes to block out the setting sun's rays. He could hardly believe it really. Not even a full day had passed and so much had happened. Was it even possible? Approximately forty people killed in one day, all by the same person, and each time that person had gotten away. It was possible he knew. Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis had done the same thing only on a greater scale during the Wutai War. Regardless, it was still shocking and disturbing on many levels that they didn't even know where the thing that had done this was.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Elena spoke up, smiling when Rufus turned to look at her. "We'll catch it eventually and then we won't have to worry about it." Rufus smiled and nodded to her.

"Your optimism is always appreciated, Elena." The woman shrugged and smiled.

"You're welcome." Rufus chuckled and shook his head, sitting up again and gathering the few papers left on his desk, setting them aside to be looked over tomorrow.

"Make sure the science and tech teams know to contact me with whatever information they find. And make sure Reno doesn't hole himself up in the tech lab tonight. He needs to be watching Rhapsodos and Strife right now not working on that little pet project of his."

"Will do, sir." Nodding, Rufus stood and walked from his office, allowing all thoughts of the days activities to fade to the back of his mind as he crossed the threshold. It wouldn't last long, but it would last till he was able to eat something and settle in front of the television, avoiding the news channels till his curiosity got the best of him. For now though, he made his way to his apartment, nodding in acknowledgement to Elena's goodbye and stepping inside. As soon as the door shut, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, sending up a little prayer to Gaia to keep his people safe with another nut job on the loose. He didn't need to lose anymore of his family.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Two in one month! yay! Sorry it took a while guys but AWA took most of my attention and then I was recovering from all the drama. Guh. Won't bore you with that. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: haha! I wish I owned it.

* * *

Chapter 14

He didn't like green. He wasn't fond of water, lightening, guns, fire, doctors and hospitals. White drove him crazy with the need to splash paint or something on it, just to cover up the stark blankness. Red was ok. So was blue. White and green, however, made his skin crawl. His ears rang with unheard voices, shadows clamoring for his attention and lingering on the edges of his vision. Someone would talk over them at times, talking to themselves or someone that he couldn't see. The words were too hard to comprehend most times but he knew that it was a doctor talking with the clinical way he spoke about his pain. Other times it was a deeper voice that whispered comforts in his ear while another, lighter voice hummed softly, gentle fingers stroking through his hair and offering a small amount of comfort.

The voices faded in and out, sometimes clear, sometimes silent. His skin and muscles would buzz with pain, less and less often as he sank farther into his own mind and the comfort of the woman with the sad smile. It was unbearable at first, that pain. In the beginning, he could put up with it for it wasn't that often that he felt it. Later though, as he heard the tones of the doctors around him change from blank to mild frustration it seemed that some part of him always hurt from something. Most often it was his lungs and throat overworked from trying to breathe and scraped raw from his screaming. All of the aches and pains combined into one large constant ache that never faded until the lady with the sad smile came to him.

She was beautiful and kind with blonde hair and bright green eyes. Green never seemed to bother him when it came to her. Probably because she radiated calm and concern instead of hostility and pain. At first, he couldn't hear her; just watch her lips move as she tried to tell him something. After a while though her voice began to filter through the static in his mind and form words of comfort, telling him to be patient and hold on a little longer for the one with him still needed him. He figured that he could do that as long as he didn't have to be awake or feel anything for a while.

"I can give you that," she'd whispered, carding her fingers gently through his hair. "I will let you sleep for now and awaken when you wish." A whisper of a kiss to his forehead and he began to float in peace, only the occasional sound or feeling getting through to him. He felt kind of bad about leaving his friend behind but she had promised that he would be alright and that he could sleep until he wanted to wake up. And sleep he did, for a long, long time, so long that she had come to him and urged him that it was alright, it was ok to wake up now. He hadn't wanted to for the place where he was, was so comfortable and safe, warm and inviting. He just wanted to sleep forever. But he was needed. The strong voice from before began to speak to him, telling him that he needed to wake up, that it was safe now.

So he opened his eyes and decided to see for himself, watching from the safe place for now. The room he woke to he didn't recognize causing a mild panic in the back of his mind until he met familiar, warm red brown eyes. That made him want to stay awake a little bit longer. He watched as his other friend, the one that he hadn't seen in such a long time, appeared and his will to wake fully grew that much stronger. However, he almost retreated when he saw the one behind him. At first, a surge of joy had rushed through him, memories of this man rushing by in front of him. His first meeting with him, first friendly conversation in which he didn't make an utter fool of himself, first compliment, first touch, first kiss, the first time he was allowed to bury his hands in the moonlit silk he called hair and not let go, first time he had slept wrapped in those strong arms. And the first and only time he had felt the cold steel blade slice cleanly through his shoulder, sending agony sparking down his spine and into his heart.

He remembered the flames licking and devouring his home town, the village people strewn on the dirt, like broken dolls, the hum of machinery and stench of mako and the creature in the tank that he had called mother. Why? Why was he here? Hadn't he gone to his precious mother? He could see her, just behind him, smiling. Why were the others not afraid of him? Didn't they see her there? Didn't they remember that he did? Surely Zack did! He'd been lying on the stairs when Cloud had run into the reactor, bleeding, and telling him that he had to fight Sephiroth, that Sephiroth had gone crazy. So why, why was he standing there?

"It's alright. He won't hurt you I promise. He was just confused before, very confused and very hurt. It's alright. He won't hurt you." He never lied, his pride wouldn't allow him to lie so he nodded and turned away from him, focusing on Zack and Genesis, allowing his constant reassurances to urge him to stay awake and not worry about Sephiroth even as Genesis and Sephiroth spared though he became agitated when the testing blows became strikes to break instead of bruise. They didn't seem to listen to him though when he yelled at them to stop and a bolt of fear had struck him when he saw Genesis's skin begin to tear on his arm. So he'd rushed forward and gotten between them and… was that why his head hurt so much? Must be. Getting knocked into a solid steel wall would probably cause the migraine that was gradually fading away. The fingers running through his hair helped too. Carefully, he blinked his eyes open and snuggled a little deeper into the pillow. He heard a chuckle above him before the fingers tapped out a short rhythm on his scalp.

"Awake now, kitten?" His guest jerked and laughed, catching his hand before it could slither back under the pillow after its attack.

"That certainly answers my question. Get your head out of the pillow and look at me." Cloud grunted and tugged at his hand, squirming when his guest kept his hold and settled more onto the bed, leaning against the head board and running his fingers through his hair.

"No use hiding kitten. I know you're awake. Now up. I want to make sure your brain didn't rattle around in all that empty space you have." Growling, Cloud raised his head and glared up at the red head.

"Least I have less empty space than you," he spat, yanking at his hand. Genesis just smiled at him and tugged him into his lap, long fingers quickly burying themselves in his hair and massaging his scalp. He put up a brief struggle but the strong fingers against his scalp and the steady heartbeat under his ear soothed him into relaxing against the red head, snuggling into the warm familiar embrace. Genesis's other arm wrapped itself around his waist, his chin resting against the top of his head as he began to hum softly, some old folk song from his hometown that he couldn't remember the words to. They sat there for a long while, Genesis humming and soothing away the shadowed memories in Cloud's mind while Cloud listened and soaked up the warmth from the body that held him, his mind gradually waking up fully as he realized that this wasn't a dream, they weren't back with the monsters and that they were—

"I thought you said you'd rip your own arm off and beat yourself unconscious before you came back to ShinRa?" he asked, tilting his head back to peer questioningly up at Genesis. Genesis huffed and rolled his eyes, tightening his grip on Cloud.

"They made me an offer I couldn't exactly refuse."

"Which would be?" Genesis paused, seeming to debate something for a long moment.

"Hojo's still out there," he said and set his chin on top of Cloud's head. "So is Langley."

"Lang…." He knew that name. He knew that name and he hated that name. It brought faded memories of sharp pain, gasping for breath that couldn't get past the clog in his throat, hot tears, confusion, sorrow, rage, pinpricks along his limbs, numbing cold, searing heat, dark screaming voices, shadows pressing in on all sides, people screaming, three voices humming and soothing and white. Endless harsh white that hurt his eyes but there was always a splotch of red somewhere close by when he woke up. Red that made him feel better and think of other things besides the pain wracking his body. Red that belonged to the man cuddling him close right now, leisurely stroking his back as he hummed some absent tune in his ear. As the tune registered in his mind he realized that he was shaking, the wash of memories causing phantom pain to shoot through his limbs and leave them shaking afterwards. Curling close, he took a deep breath and forced the memories back behind the wall they had been sealed in.

"Alright now, Kitten?" Genesis asked softly, fingers weaving through his hair like they always did.

"Y-you're never going to stop calling me that are you?" he grumbled, ignoring the tremor in his voice. Genesis chuckled and kissed his forehead.

"Nope. Hungry? There's some dinner left." Cloud shook his head and tightened his arms around Genesis's waist, unwilling to let go of the man for even a second. Genesis smiled softly and settled more comfortably against the head board, fingers burying themselves into his kitten's thick blonde spikes. Perhaps Zack could stop panicking every time he came over and Sephiroth could stop glancing at the bedroom door every two seconds now that Cloud was actually awake. So he'd been wrong in his prediction on when the boy would wake up, no reason to have a panic attack over it.

"How long have I been asleep?" Cloud asked softly, obviously resisting the urge to fall asleep with Genesis by his side.

"Two days. Zack was about to have a panic attack and I swear Sephiroth was ready to chain himself to the floor in here to wait till you woke up."

"You were too."

"Hmph. No idea what you're talking about." Cloud just shook his head with a smile, eyes drifting completely shut as Genesis resumed humming.

"Get some sleep, kitten," he whispered, ghosting a kiss across Cloud's brow. Cloud stubbornly shook his head, trying and failing to fight off sleep.

"Slept too much."

"I'll wake you up early in the morning."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

"K." With Genesis as his pillow and the song as his lullaby, Cloud set aside the tingling paranoia in his spine and allowed himself to sleep.

~*~

As if by some unspoken agreement, the next morning, everyone on the ShinRa compound was jittery as though they were waiting for something. The SOLDIERs stuck together in pairs or groups of three or more, communicating silently with each other to be on the lookout for something they didn't know was coming or not. They felt it though, something looming on the horizon, waiting to pounce. That anxiety slowly bled into the Turks who knew what was coming though they could only guess as to the shape it would take. They stationed themselves around the president's office, two at a time, switching every six hours by some unspoken schedule they had drilled into themselves years ago. By noon, everyone was quiet, glancing around in an attempt to spot the mystery they could feel coming. Zack tried not to let it bother him as he walked with Sephiroth from the gym, both showered and changed from their gym clothes to their regular clothes.

"Is it just me," he said after stepping into an empty elevator to head up to the president's office. "But does it seem like everyone's waiting for something to leap up and bite 'em?"

"That seems to be the general atmosphere," Sephiroth answered. Zack leaned against the wall of the elevator, arms crossed over his chest and took a moment to look over his friend. His shoulders were back, posture ram rod straight and his jaw was trying very hard not to clench. Apparently the anticipation in the air was starting to affect him as well. Heaving a silent sigh, Zack shook his head.

"Nothing's gonna happen, Seph," he said.

"That you are aware of, Zack."

"Hey, when have I ever been wrong?" Sephiroth tore his gaze from the floor indicator above the doors and sent him a flat look, one eyebrow quirking in silent question.

"Other than that!" Zack exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "Honestly, one time and I'm branded for life. Never should've told you about that." Sephiroth smirked at him.

"You didn't," he said. "Angeal did." Zack stared at him for a moment before his jaw dropped.

"What?! That traitor!" Sephiroth chuckled and shook his head as Zack went on to rant and rave about his former mentor. The incident in question wasn't very big, however, it had almost cost Zack his leg. In the early months of his mentorship with Angeal, Zack had thought it'd be a good idea to try and take on a monster by himself. Angeal has hung back and watched, ready to jump in if it looked like Zack couldn't handle it. For all appearances, he had been able to, striking down the monster with quick heavy blows but when he'd turned his back on it to grin at Angeal, the monster had lunged and latched onto his leg, attempting the gnaw it off. Needless to say, Zack wasn't allowed to do any fighting on his own for quite some time and he had a ring of rather impressive scars around his right knee as a reminder not to try something so stupid again. He did, but he always remembered not to turn his back on his opponent until he was absolutely sure it was down.

The elevator sounded a short ding as it arrived at the correct floor, the doors sliding open soundlessly. People were scurrying back and forth, nearly frantic to get to a stopping point before going to lunch though most nodded to them as they stepped from the elevator to transfer to the next one.

"Good afternoon, General," spoke a voice behind him. Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder, giving the petite woman behind him a quick once over as Zack swept the keycard through the scanner. Short, wutaian, slender, black hair pulled into a bun at the base of her neck, hands folded in front of her, clothes the mark of an aid to a dignitary.

Must belong to Godo's daughter, Sephiroth thought to himself, nodding to her absently as he stepped into the elevator. The aid followed, keeping her eyes politely lowered and standing in a corner across from them. A few moments of silence passed before Zack glanced at the aid and smiled.

"So what're you going to see the president for?" he asked. She looked mildly surprised that he had guessed right, looking up at him with a smile.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"Well, Wutaian dignitaries don't come for much else really." Her giggle, meant to be cute, sent a chill racing down Sephiroth's spine. Zack didn't seem to notice, his gaze focused on the pretty, unassuming little thing.

"Very true," she said, straightening as she spoke, a lock of hair escaping the bun to brush against her face. Dark eyes glinted up at them, a ring of gold beginning to circle the dark brown iris.

"However, I think just this once, a wutaian is here for a different purpose." Her left hand came up and brushed the lock behind her ear, sword tattoo a black stain on her skin.

"I'm here to see Genesis." Zack summed it up perfectly with just one word.

"Shit."


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Nyaaaaaa...... *Shifty eyes, sheepish smile* oops. I meant to update a LOT sooner than this but work kept distracting me and this thing didn't want to be written!! Luckily, my Koi came up with a brilliant idea that led to half of this being written by her! So I take half credit for this chapter and give many thanks to my wonderful Koi for all her help! I'll try and update sooner guys but I warn you now, I work retail and it's holiday season. Which means oh dear god. I'll get better at updating though! Thank you all for waiting and enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned it things would be very very different.

* * *

Chapter 15

Genesis was not happy when he woke up that morning. It may have had something to do with the fact that Cloud was up doing pushups when he woke or the fact that his fingers wouldn't stop twitching and he kept getting the feeling that he was being watched or something was looming over him. The feeling persisted as he and Cloud ate breakfast though it retreated when he allowed himself to be dragged to the gym so that Cloud could try and get his limbs working correctly through some light exercise. Being asleep for so long, his body had decided it would do what it wanted without asking Cloud's brain first. This led to Cloud falling about six times when his legs wouldn't cooperate and dropping something three times when his fingers refused to grip what he was holding. Thank the goddess he wasn't drinking anything hot when he dropped the glass. After the gym they made their way to the president's office, the nagging in the back of his mind only growing as the day wore on and he noticed the anticipation that seemed to be lingering in the air. Even Cloud had commented on it, keeping close to Genesis as he eyes flitted around for something.

"Something's going to happen," he had whispered. Genesis took his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Nothing's going to happen, Cloud. You're just letting everyone else's paranoia get to you." Cloud had stubbornly shaken his head and refused to comment further. The brief meeting with Rufus had been just that, brief and disappointing. No news had come in from the people stationed in Kalm, everything apparently normal. Complete bullshit if you asked him. She was just hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to leap out of her little hidey hole and tear the unfortunate finder's head off.

_May Gaia have mercy on the poor soul who does find her_, he thought to himself. The thought had come to him after he had stepped out of the elevator from the top floor, moments before Zack came hurtling out of the elevator next to it, slamming into the wall with a grunt. He seemed to stick there for a moment before falling off, landing on his hands and knees as he tried to catch his breath and shake off any dizziness he felt. Genesis grabbed Cloud by the arm and pulled him behind him, ignoring his startled gasp as he shoved him into their red headed shadow. Thankfully, Reno kept his mouth shut and moved back down the hall into a side corridor, allowing Genesis to back up towards the windows bordering the elevators just as Zack's attacker stepped out.

"I thought you said you hated traditional Wutaian clothes, Paige," he called, drawing her attention away from the still gasping Zack and over to him, her real target. Dark, gold ringed eyes turned from the kneeling soldier and alighted on him, a smile spreading across her face.

"Well there you are! I've been looking all over for you." Straightening, she turned away from Zack and started towards him, ignoring the way he backed away with every step she took. Reno, Gaia bless his soul, maneuvered Cloud deeper into the side hallway, effectively concealing him from Paige's flitting gaze and allowing Genesis to focus completely on the one in front of him. With a delighted giggle that sounded completely wrong coming from her, she leapt forward those last few feet and flung herself at Genesis, clamping her arms around his shoulders and dangling from them, toes barely skimming the floor. Genesis very carefully kept the disgust from his face, meeting Paige's brightly glowing eyes with cool indifference.

"Did you miss me, Genny darling?" She asked sweetly, snuggling into his shoulder. Genesis forced himself to smile benignly down at her when she peeked up at him, hands coming up to hover at her sides.

"Of course, Paige."

"Well, you won't have to anymore. Now that I've found you, I'll never let you go." She tightened her grip around his neck to emphasize her point. Pulling back, she glanced up and down the hallway.

"Where's your little blonde friend? Didn't you escape with him?"

"I'm afraid he passed away. You'll tell the doctor for me won't you?" The ring of gold in her eyes expanded.

"He passed away. You know, somehow I don't believe you, Genny."

"Oh? Why not? I've never lied to you before have I?" A thoughtful look crossed her face, one arm coming off his neck to tap a finger against her chin.

"Well…. Just once really."

"When?"

"Just now." With a widening smile she pulled a golden hair from the shoulder of his shirt, dangling it in front of his face, the sunlight from the windows glinting off it. Genesis would have made every Turk in existence envious as he kept the kind smile on his face, eyes soft despite the rage tightening Paige's frame and the adrenalin coursing through his veins.

"And how do you know that's his, Paige? There are many other blondes here and these elevators get awfully crowded at certain times of the day."

"Well they must've been standing incredibly close to get one of their hairs on you," She flicked the hair away, arm coming back to rest on his shoulder, claws touching lightly on the base of his neck. The smile on her face dimmed, eyes narrowing as the gold grew brighter.

"You know, Genesis, it's not right to go behind my back like that," she said. "It's considered cheating."

"Yes, but, I believe that only applies to those who are involved romantically. You and I, Paige, are not." Genesis kept his gaze focused on Paige, despite the flicker of black and silver he could see out of the corner of his eye. Paige seemed to stop moving, smile frozen in place. She remained silent for several moments, her body stiff as stone against him before her arms began to tighten like a vice around his neck. Her lips peeled back from her teeth in an animalistic snarl of outrage, the golden ring flaring brightly around the darker brown of her iris.

"You. Are. Mine!" She growled. A crash, blur of silver and black, flurry of feathers, a great shatter of glass and Genesis was free of her, Paige falling sixty-eight stories to the ground below while Sephiroth landed and shook glass from his wing and hair. Genesis merely raised an eyebrow and looked from the window to Sephiroth.

"I assume she kicked you out of the elevator?" he said. Sephiroth remained stone faced as he floated to the floor, walking closer to the shattered window.

"Hm. Shall we go?"

"Hmph. And people say I'm the petty and dramatic one."

"You are most of the time." Genesis scowled and whacked Sephiroth lightly on the arm, tossing his hair out of his face as he half turned towards the corridor where Reno and Cloud were peeking from.

"Cloud, stay up here and away from the broken window. Reno, don't let him get hurt."

"You got it, yo." Reno said, giving a mock salute while Cloud frowned in worry, stepping out of the hallway slightly.

"Be careful."

"Of course." With a smile he stepped over to the window, glass crunching under his boots and looked over to Sephiroth.

"You coming?" he asked. Sephiroth merely quirked an eyebrow, the look plainly stating that it was a stupid question, before stepping up beside Genesis.

"Zack," he called, looking out the window and spotting Paige on the ground, the girl irate and snarling up at them.

"You come back hurt enough for the medical ward and I'll kick your pretty little feather brained ass out another fuckin' window." Zack groused, pulling himself up from the floor, one hand held to his head. Sephiroth let out a short snort of amusement.

"Very well. Stay here." With that and Zack's half hearted "Yes, sir", he leapt out the window, wing catching on the wind and hovering there, waiting for Genesis. Smirking, Genesis took a few steps back and took a running leap, launching a few feet from the building before gravity took hold and began to pull him towards the ground. A smile of joy curled his lips, the wind whipping his hair away from his face as the ground rushed up to meet him. With a twitch in his shoulder blades and a great tearing of fabric the wings forced themselves through his shirt, trailing behind him like silken banners, arched to accelerate his fall rather than slow his downward plummet. Flexing the muscles in his shoulders moments before he would hit the ground, he flattened his wings to either side of him and soared quickly upwards, barely missing Paige's furious swipe at him, his stomach sucking in to dodge the slice.

"I believe," Sephiroth started, flying down to hover next to him when Genesis ceased his theatrics and hovered in the air. "That the little stunt you just pulled has secured your title as the dramatic one." Genesis let out a laugh and shook his ruffled hair from his face.

"Perhaps, my friend. The title wouldn't have suited you at all anyway." Genesis saw the surprise flicker across his face before a smirk took over, twisting one corner of his lips upwards, his gaze returning to the furious, pacing woman below them.

"What is the best course of action?"

"Hm. Knock her out, injure her enough so she runs off, or kill her. Either course works."

"Very well." A flick of his wrist and Sephiroth was swooping down on Paige, Masamune a streak of silver out to his side. Genesis could see the cruel snarl twisting on Paige's face as she crouched, prepared for the strike. The clang rang into the air and soon Genesis was watching the pair twirl across the grounds at the back of the ShinRa building, trading and dodging blows as they came, claws versus sword.

~*~

Cloud was not watching the fight. He was staying away from the window, like Genesis said to, because Genesis knew what he was talking about when it came to Paige. He was, however, watching Zack. The older man was standing on the windowsill, glass crunching under his boots when he shifted. His gaze was fixed on the ground below.

"Don't tell me you're gunna sprout wings and fly too, yo." Reno groused from Cloud's side. Zack laughed briefly, but it tapered off tragically into silence. It was a sound completely at odds with the Zack Fair Cloud remembered. Gone was the carefree attitude battle had brought about in the young man. Suddenly, Cloud realized that 'puppy' no longer fit his charismatic friend. He had grown up.

Zack's eyes darted back and forth as he watched the figures below him dance around each other, and Cloud could read the flow of the battle on his face. It didn't look good for their side. He itched to look for himself, and was forestalled only by the memory of what Paige had done the last time she saw him. He shuddered at the memory. Her claws, which had sought out his blood, had wound up embedded in Genesis's back. Langley had been caught between fury and exuberance, shrieking with delight that Genesis had served his purpose as the shield even as he bled in Cloud's arms. Even with his unnatural healing abilities, the wounds had been slow to recover for the red-haired warrior. He wasn't willing to risk putting him in that situation again.

Glass cracked as Reno stepped forward slowly to peer out the window, staying much further back from the ledge than Zack, mindful of the deadly fall. He whistled lowly, and Cloud could have sworn he saw a rush of want fill his face. Before he could comment on what he found so intriguing, Zack whirled away from the view, striding purposefully to Cloud.

"Spike, you gotta stay here, okay?" he said, placing a firm, warm hand on Cloud's shoulder. The blond furrowed his brows.

"We're not supposed to go down there," he reminded the other man. Zack only shook his head slowly and pulled away, jogging down the hallway to the stairs across the way, intent on avoiding the elevators this time. Cloud and Reno both called his name behind him, but he barely registered the sound. He'd watched Sephiroth fight before, while drugged and helpless, but he was neither now, and he'd be damned before he let the man go it alone again.

He briefly wished he did have wings himself, no matter how painful Sephiroth said the process was. Then he would have been able to leap after his comrade rather than screaming down the stairs.

Outside, Sephiroth found himself somewhat enjoying Paige's frustration. She was strong, and spry, but couldn't leap high enough to take him or Genesis out of the air, and Masamune's reach made it possible to fight her without coming in range of her attacks. It was almost amusing to watch her frustration grow, until she ran up the side of the building and launched herself through the air, eyes sparks of gold in the afternoon sun. Sephiroth had dodged back far enough to avoid her, but had been forced back in close when she moved to re-enter the building. He wouldn't allow her close to Zack and Cloud. Genesis appeared to be of the same mind, but he was having a difficult time getting involved in direct combat with Paige. Sephiroth made a mental note to give him back Rapier the moment they had time.

"Genesis," the woman purred when Sephiroth fell back yet again, his shoulder burning from extended use of his wing so soon after a grievous injury to it. "Why are you being so silly?" Her claw curled slowly and she rested it on her hip in exasperation. Genesis made an extremely soft, disgusted noise in the back of his throat before turning the charm back on.

"Paige, we've talked about this before," he reminded her in a slightly patronizing tone. "This is me trying to get away from you, not playing hard to get." Sephiroth watched Genesis's hand close around thin air where the hilt of a sword ought to be, and suddenly felt like an idiot for allowing Cloud's presence to distract him from something as essential as arming his friend. The deadly figure beneath them extended her lower lip in a full-blown pout that might have challenged Zack's were it not for the mania in her eyes.

"Hiding behind your friend there?" She giggled, and the sound sent pins dancing up Sephiroth's spine. He quite suddenly smelled a rat. The young woman strode forward towards the both of them, and Sephiroth glanced behind her in time to see Zack slipping out of Shinra HQ behind her. He leveled an annoyed look at the man briefly, rewarded by a sheepish shrug before he turned back to the approaching menace. Her gaze was fixed on Genesis with a worryingly smug expression.

"Oh, Genny," She crooned sympathetically. "Do you really think he's your friend?" Gold flashed in her eyes as they narrowed hatefully, gaze turning to Sephiroth, "Do you really think he would have come for you if little blondie hadn't been there?" Sephiroth sensed Genesis stiffening by his side, and glanced over to find him giving Paige a narrowed, angry look. She only turned back to him, smiling kindly.

"He and his little friend, who I _do_ know is behind me," Zack stopped his advance and stared at her, wide eyed, "they were going to leave you behind. You weren't worth the trouble for them to come save you. They wouldn't even have come to the lab if sweet little _Cloud_ wasn't there." Her face twisted into a snarl at the mention of their blonde comrade. Sephiroth glared daggers through her, lip curling in a snarl.

But it was what he didn't do that shook Genesis to the core. He didn't rebut her. He didn't correct her error, and say that Genesis had been part of their plan all along, and behind Paige, Zack was watching calmly. If she had been lying about them, the puppy would have flown off the handle. Genesis was so shaken he didn't see the shuriken leave Paige's hand until it was too late. The blade sunk into his left wing and startled him enough to send him towards the ground. He registered the sight of Paige launching forward to skewer him (with love, no doubt) and the feel of Sephiroth moving to block the hit, but what stole his attention was that Zack, the one closest to their enemy, made not a move to stop her.

Masamune deflected the claws from Genesis's side, but the tide of battle had turned in Paige's favor. Even as the sword swept aside the hit aimed for Genesis, her other hand caught the blade, metal grating on metal, and she yanked downward, drawing Sephiroth to her level to slash her claws across his face, sending stray locks of silver tumbling to the ground and blinding the general with his own blood briefly. He kicked her away, but the damage was done, and Zack moved forward out of fear and worry, his gaze on Sephiroth rather than the enemy only to catch a gut full of steel.

Sixty eight stories above, Reno let out a brief, inappropriate gasp of laughter, much to Cloud's confusion and frustration, then refused to explain it, saying instead, "Nothin', yo. How long has Genesis been a bird-man?"

Zack coughed blood, sliding off Paige's claw and to the ground, writhing at the pain of the injury, pale hands clamped over the wound quickly becoming coated in blood. Sephiroth jerked at the sound of pain from him and furiously swiped the blood from his eyes to attack Paige again. The woman only laughed, dancing away from him, stepping carelessly over Zack's prone form.

The second shuriken lodged itself under Sephiroth's collarbone. It had been aimed for his neck. Earth-shattering discovery or not, Genesis stepped back in, wings mantled behind him elegantly, feeling hot blood flow down his back from the wounded one. He extended his hands towards her and took a step forward as Sephiroth folded, hand flying to the steel lodged in his skin.

"Paige," he called, and she looked up through crazed eyes, expression suddenly clearing of bloodlust to fall into a loving smile, claws coated in Zack's blood curling and uncurling with amusement. She slunk over towards him, perfect lips bowed upwards coyly. What he would do once she reached him was still up in the air, of course. He had no weapon, and Paige had her claws, three materia slots in her glove she hadn't even bothered to use yet, and apparently a new set of Shuriken, one of which still jutted from his wing. A slow smile crossed Genesis's face as he reached up a hand and pulled the blade out, never dropping eye contact with Paige and making a show of dropping it to the ground. Paige stopped inches away from him, stance feral and dangerous, as she inspected him.

"Loose the wings," she ordered sharply, scowl pulling at her lips. Genesis lifted both hands and obeyed though it rubbed him entirely the wrong way to do so. Sixty eight stories above, Reno moaned in disappointment. Paige's face lit up at the compliance and she placed her hands on her hips.

"Well," she chirped. "That was new!" As she spoke, Genesis's foot connected with her temple, and he snatched the weapon off the ground, digging it into Paige's chest fiercely and hoping it was long enough to kill her. She stared at him in horrified anger as blood gushed out over his hand, then let out a beast of a shriek. The third shuriken lodged itself between Genesis's ribs, and as Paige streaked away across the Shinra grounds, he sank gasping to the ground, feeling the wound itself less intensely than the sudden burn in his shoulder, and then was aware of nothing else.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: And after two months of waiting here it is! Chatper 16! Sorry for the wait guys but it's usally around this far in that I start to loose interest in a story but not this time! This thing will be completed no matter what! Thank you guys so much for your reviews, patience and support and I hope this chapter kind of explains some things as I know it hasn't been the clearest fic in the world. Let me know what you think ok? Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Chapter 16

Doctors made his skin crawl. He already knew this of course but as he watched the "medics" swarm around the trio in the courtyard he felt panic swell in his chest. He tossed the first one he came to out of his way, making a quick path to the unconscious Genesis, kicking the "medic" kneeling next to him and gathering the man into his arms, hunching over him to hide his injuries from view. His eyes swept over the stunned group, bright glow daring them to try and come closer, try and take his Genesis away. They ignored him. One gathered his wits the quickest and stepped forward, spouting some bullshit about needing to see him, that Cloud was in the way and that Genesis needed their "help." It was a lie, all of it! "Medics," "doctors," and "nurses" didn't want to help.

All they wanted to do was strap you to a table, jab needles and shit in you, pretend you were a fucking rat that didn't understand a damn word they were saying and run electricity through you to see what would happen! They were the ones that held you under water so long that you passed out! They were the ones that listened to the nut job and said "Yes, sir!" when he asked for the scalpel that way he could peel back your skin and muscle far enough to put a jagged piece of glowing materia right into you! Genesis still had the scar from that! There was no way in hell they were getting their clingy little hands on him! Never!

One had gotten behind him. A hand landed heavily on his shoulder, squeezing to get his attention. Screaming like a banshee, he swung an arm back and knocked them away, hunching once more over Genesis, shouting at them to stay away. Genesis didn't need their "help"! The exclamation of surprise and pain sent a thrill through him. He hoped he broke their fucking arm!

"Cloud," someone said to his right. He saw a flash of silver and a line of black and knew exactly who it was.

"Get the fuck away from me, traitor!!" He screamed, taking satisfaction in the flash of pain in those once beautiful green eyes. True, he had once loved the man but seeing him turn that quickly, feeling the cold steel blade slide through his flesh when the man had sworn that he would never hurt him, seeing Zack and Tifa laying in the reactor, Tifa unconscious, Zack unable to move and the flames licking at the houses of his home town, that had shattered any type of trust he had had in the man. Lovers apparently didn't mean as much to him as he had said it did. He froze mid snarl as fingers brushed against his cheek, the body in his hold shifting against him.

"Calm down, Kitten," he said softly. "I'm alright." Easing up, he turned quickly to Genesis, the man's red brown eyes glittering in amusement and trace amounts of pain.

"Gen?" The smile on his face widened and he quickly took advantage of Cloud's slackened grip to sit up and pull the shuriken from his side, wincing at the feel of metal grating against his ribs. Reaching over, he ran a hand through Cloud's hair, easing the boy's tension greatly and some of his own. Cloud felt the panic and rage melt from him as he saw Genesis moving around though he did shuffle closer once the medics were given the ok to come closer.

"Ok. Why the hell is he so calm now?" Zack groused, standing next to Sephiroth as medics began to tend to them. "He was about ready to take everyone's head off and one word from Genesis and he's as cuddly as a freakin' kitten!" Sephiroth had to agree. It was kind of strange though if he actually thought about it, he and Zack had a similar reaction to each other. He recalled a moment a year and half or so ago after they had escaped the lab in Nibelhiem. He had been feeling strange all day before he was suddenly unable to walk. Zack had said something about a fever and he remembered drifting in and out of consciousness, waking up at one point to find that Zack was nowhere in sight and didn't answer to his calls. He had no idea how long he had wandered the area around their campsite but when he saw Zack come through the trees, whole and alive and looking at him in confusion he had felt a relief so great he had almost fallen to his knees.

"I will explain it to you later, Zack," he said. Zack frowned and glared up at him.

"What? You get it?"

"…Yes."

"I hate you."

"I'm aware." Zack just scowled up at him and turned back to watching the medics swarming around them. Genesis brushed their hands away and stood, dusting the dirt off his shirt and pants.

"We're fine," he said. "Now beat it, shoo."

"But, sir, we—"

"I'm fine. I'm not going to medical. If you have a problem with it feel free to complain. I'm still not going. Shall we go, Cloud?" Cloud nodded once and took the man's offered hand.

"Hold it! No one's going anywhere!" The group looked up, Zack raising an eyebrow at the bundle in Reno's arms. The red head looked a little ragged and very, very frustrated. His green eyes were flashing angrily at them, a scowl twisting his lips.

"Something…. Wrong, reno?" Reno's glare intensified.

"That. Was fucking. Pathetic!!" He shouted causing Zack to jump in surprise. He'd never heard that much rage coming from Reno before.

"And why do you say that, Turk?" Genesis asked coolly.

"She was five foot nothin', practically a damn stick and she kicked all three of you to Wutai and back! Honestly! I thought SOLDIERs were supposed to be better than Turks but apparently that's a load of fuckin' bullshit!" He snapped around to face Sephiroth.

"And you! You were supposed to give this shit back to him days ago but apparently your memory's as shitty as Zack's! Here! Maybe next time you'll actually be able to do something rather than being a damn pincushion!"

With that he tossed the large bundle at Genesis and crossed his arms in a huff. Genesis barely caught the two pieces as they came flying at him, his retort dying in his throat as his gaze zeroed in on the familiar hilt of the sword. It glinted in the sunlight, the blade singing as he pulled it from the sheath. The red tinted metal seemed to smile at him, recognizing its old master immediately and welcoming him back.

"Rapier," he whispered in awe. "Where….?"

"Seph found it a couple miles south of Nibelheim." Zack answered, allowing a medic to cast cure on him. "I wanted to leave the damn thing behind but he insisted on taking it with us."

"Why?" Sephiroth gave an awkward shrug.

"You would not have left Rapier behind." Genesis observed him for a moment before resheathing his blade, nodding once in thanks. Reno huffed again and started back towards the building.

"Come on, losers. Rufus wants to talk to you."

"And the man can't wait?"

"He said something about wanting answers so my guess would be no." Genesis rolled his eyes, took Cloud's hand and followed Sephiroth and Zack up to the president's office, trying to repress the urge to ignore the child president and quickly making out an escape route in his head. The out of order sign on one of the elevators gave him a little laugh.

"You don't seem to have the best luck with glass and heights, Sephiroth." He said. Sephiroth cast him an unamused glance and turned his attention back to the elevator.

~*~

Rufus was not happy. He was not happy for a number of reasons really. He had just gotten word an hour ago that his tracker hunting Hojo had lost him somewhere around Costa Del Sol, the research team had just finished decoding the information brought back from Langley's lab but it would take hours to get a thorough report on the Doctor's plans, and to top it off, the experiment that had gotten loose and killed two dozen people had shown up and was not the disfigured abomination he had been led to believe but was instead a regular looking wutaian woman that passed for a dignitary. He now thought that he had been patient enough and was determined to get the answers to his questions. Whether Genesis Rhapsodos felt like giving them or not.

A knock heralded the arrival of Reno and the two generals, their other companions in tow. Unsurprisingly, Genesis ignored him and took a seat on one of the couches before his desk, his blonde shadow perching beside him and glancing around the room warily. Reno leaned against the wall by the door, arms crossed and eyes sharp, apparently wanting his own answers. Sephiroth remained standing while Zack took a seat on the other couch.

"So, what is so important that we had to come straight here after dealing with Paige?" Genesis asked, drawing Rufus's sharp blue gaze from the world outside his window and to him. Genesis barely held back the snort that threatened to sound. Like he'd honestly be intimidated by that look.

"You are here, Mr. Rhapsodos, because I require answers and you're going to give them to me."

"Oh really? And what makes you think that?"

"Because in order to not repeat the mistakes of the past I need any and all information you have on Doctor Langley, his relationship with Hojo, Paige and anything else he might throw at us. I'd rather not risk my people by throwing them into a situation with as little information as you've given and I don't like guessing." Genesis quirked an amused eyebrow.

"You are assuming that I know more than what the lab techs will find in that data."

"You know from personal experience and are better able to interpret the Doctor's intentions."

"The Doctor's intentions are obvious if you pull your head out of your ass."

"Gen." Rufus paused at the softly spoken word, watching Genesis as he glanced at Cloud. A silent message passed between them before Genesis huffed and rolled his eyes.

"I'll answer your questions as best I can but more personal questions will be left to your imagination. Deal?"

"Very well then." He'd take what he could get. Settling at his desk with pen and paper, he spotted Zack sitting forward on the couch, eagerly awaiting the Q&A and Sephiroth's own eyes were bright with restrained curiosity. "What is the Doctor's aim?"

"I told you this days ago," the red haired man said with a roll of his eyes. "He wants to control life and death through something called the Eyes of Gaia. No, I do not know if it's possible, I just know he's basing his experiments on a myth."

"How do you know it's a myth?" Zack asked. Genesis cast a significant glance at Cloud who was paying more attention to the wallpaper then them.

"Do you know the myth?"

"I don't. I just know that it is one."

"What is Paige's purpose?"

"To put it poetically," Genesis snorted. "Paige is to be the sword, the first line of defense for the Eyes of Gaia. The sword will cut down any that wish the Eyes harm."

"And the shield?"

"The shield…." Genesis trailed off, his body tensing and jaw clenching briefly. "The shield is the secondary line of defense. It blocks and destroys what gets past the sword and thus is close to the Eyes at all times and works with the sword to protect the Eyes as best as possible against all things."

"And who is the shield?" Silence reigned in the room before Genesis took a deep breath and let it out slowly, clenched fist uncurling.

"The shield would be me," he said, voice flat. "That is why Cloud and I were confined in the same cell, why Paige and I had numerous 'training' sessions together and why I was given the second wing."

"That why he stopped your degradation?" Zack asked before another question could be spoken. Genesis jaw clicked shut, his eyes narrowing on the boy before flicking quickly to Sephiroth, noting the concerned/curious look on the man's face.

"Yes, Zackary," he said. "That is why he stopped my degradation. Can't have a broken and decaying shield guarding the Eyes can you?" Genesis's opinion of that statement was obvious. Quickly, Rufus asked another question before the man could lose his temper.

"What is his relationship with Hojo?"

"Hmmmmph. Best guess, Langley was Hojo's apprentice. I don't know for sure as I didn't have much time to ask."

"Were his experiments successful?" Genesis snorted.

"Of course not. Not completely anyway. Paige is supposed to want nothing more than to protect Cloud and every time she sees him she wants to kill him. He did turn her into a complete basket case obsessed with me though."

"And the eyes?" Rufus forced himself not to flinch but the question had to be asked. Genesis looked about ready to leap across the room and tear his head off. Cloud answered for him.

"No." He said softly. "I can see the life stream, talk to the people inside it but I can't bring them back." Genesis stroked a soothing hand through the boy's hair, earning him a faint smile in return.

"Do you know where Langley could be?" Genesis shot him an incredulous look.

"Would I be here, talking to you, if I did? You're not very sharp, Mr. President." Rufus ignored the barb and tried to think of any other questions.

"Perhaps though, you could answer a few questions of mine." Genesis said and turned quickly to Sephiroth.

"Why did you burn Nibelheim to the ground?"

"Genesis!" Cloud squawked, jerking against Genesis. No matter what the reason behind the destruction he didn't want to hear it. Zack growling warningly at the former Red General, his protectiveness for Sephiroth rearing forth as he caught the surprised jerk and the pain quickly hidden behind a blank mask. Genesis simply ignored them both and watched Sephiroth expectantly.

"After your… visit…" Sephiroth started, forcing his voice to the flat tones he usually used when reporting on a mission. "I ventured down to the ShinRa Mansion basement and began looking through Hojo and Gast's notes. Reading over them and the notes on Jenova my perception of reality began to shift. Jenova is apparently sentient and she used the turmoil the truth of my origins caused and the link between herself and the cells within me to convince me that the human race needed to be terminated thus the destruction of Nibelheim and subsequent events."

"So that…. Is why you attacked the little village girl, Zack and… Cloud?"

"Yes."

"Hm. And what is black substance you expelled a few days ago? When Cloud threw you out the window?" Sephiroth winced slightly, recalling the acidic burning in the back of his throat such expulsions caused.

"It…. It is a mix of bile, blood and Jenova cells. The concentration of Jenova cells appears to be much greater in my wing and the trauma to the appendage caused the mass expulsion."

"Is that why your strength has been waning and you've lost at least thirty pounds?" Sephiroth huffed faintly.

"Twenty three and yes." Genesis opened his mouth to ask another question, Cloud's smooth voice interrupting him.

"Did you kill the president?" All eyes in the room turned to him. Rufus noticed a smug sense of pride swelling in Sephiroth's eyes as the man nodded once and he had to repress a shudder at the image of his father's mutilated corpse. The kill had not been clean, blood painting the carpet a darker shade of red around the body and—Giving himself a shake he snapped out of it and focused on the conversation again.

"Come to think of it," Genesis was saying. "What happened to the other board members? I noticed Reeve wandering around so I know he's still here but what of Scarlet, Heidegger and Palmer?" Zack snorted, a grin threatening to break across his face as a faintly cruel light entered his eyes.

"Heidegger had an accident and Palmer's missing." He said. Genesis raised an eyebrow at the expression on the boy's face, his perception of him shifting a little to accommodate for the never before seen sadistic streak.

"And Scarlet?"

"She's working in weapon's development still," Sephiroth answered. "And is turning out improved weapons now that she has the funding she requires."

"Hm. Who's the vice president?" Before anyone could answer, a knock sounded and the door opened, admitting a tall, lanky, grey eyed, dark skinned brunette into the office. Taking a quick look around the room he walked over to the desk and handed Rufus a folder.

"The bi-weekly Junon conversion report, sir."

"Ah. Thank you, Devon. I assume nothing out of the ordinary?"

"No, sir. Conversion is sixty-five percent complete sir. They expect full conversion in two months at the earliest. A quarter of the team is already on its way Corel to begin conversion there."

"Thank you." Devon nodded once and walked back out of the room, posture erect, shoes whispering across the carpet and the door shutting softly behind him. Zack shivered and rubbed the back of his neck.

"No matter how many times I see that guy he always creeps me out." He said. Genesis quirked an eyebrow, turning to Rufus.

"That was…..?"

"Devon. The vice president."

"I see. Conversion report? What on earth are you converting Junon and Corel into?" Rufus actually looked smug at that, setting the report aside to lean back in his chair.

"The mako reactors in each area are being converted to Energy generators run by solar power, wind power and hydro electric power." He was expecting shock but perhaps not to the level of the laughter which spilled from Genesis's throat.

"ShinRa? Going green? Did Avalanche finally convince you that you were killing the planet, Mr. President?"

"Hardly. They convinced me that Mako reactors are not nearly as profitable as my father believed them to be. We're currently converting all the mako reactors in use into energy generators by use of other sources and it is proving to be a much safer, cleaner, less expensive way of going about business since no one is blowing up the reactors anymore." Genesis simply snorted and shook his head.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Rufus simply shook his head and sat forward again.

"I notice you've been given back your sword." He said, catching and holding Genesis's gaze. "What will you do now that you have it, Cloud is awake and you know that Langley and Hojo are still out there?" Genesis's eyes narrowed on him, Cloud also straightening as the tension from before returned to the room.

"I assume you have an offer, Mr. President?"

"I do, yes."

"Then make it. Quickly." Rufus regarded the man and his companion for a moment, considering the offer he had made to Sephiroth and Zack a year ago and making a few quick changes.

"I will make you the same offer I made to Sephiroth and Zack, with a few alterations." He said. "You will come back to work for ShinRa, help us find and execute Langley and Hojo as well as destroy any and all experiments and data they have. You will answer to Lazard and myself, sharing command of SOLDIER and the regular army with Sephiroth and Zack. Also, your expertise with Wutai will be valuable in our negotiations with them."

"In other words, come back to work for ShinRa." He snorted. "And what's in it for me, hm? If you recall, ShinRa has never been very kind to Cloud or myself. Don't tell me that I'll get to kill Langley because honestly, if I went off and found him myself I could kill him and not work for a company that tried to play god."

"And how would you search for him? Where would you start? What would happen if Paige or another of Langley's or Hojo's experiments attacked you or Cloud? Would you honestly be able to survive another confrontation with Paige seeing as how she took down all THREE of you so easily?" He caught Zack's scowl at the reminder, Sephiroth's tensing shoulders and Genesis's cooling glare. The man was silent for a long moment, the look held long enough to make a shiver race down Rufus's spine and butterflies loose in his stomach. Perhaps it wasn't so wise to goad the man so.

"…. I will not be a ShinRa dog again."

"You may leave when you wish with severance pay."

"Cloud answers only to me. Your 'scientists' will not touch him. Your 'scientists' will not touch me. When Langley is found, Cloud and I will deal with him. Is that clear?"

"… Perfectly. I'll have the contract drawn up. Also, you will have to work with the research team on Langley's data. They will have questions as well I'm sure." Sephiroth took a quick step forward, ready to catch Genesis if the man flew into a rage, his glowing eyes indicating the possibility. He froze though when Cloud's glare switched to him. After a long moment of tense silence, Genesis nodded once, stood, took Cloud by the arm and the pair left the room. When the door closed, Reno heaved a loud breath of relief and slumped against the wall. Zack echoed him, the tension in Sephiroth's shoulders bleeding from him slowly.

"Can I make a request, sir?" Reno asked. Looking up from his slumped position in the chair, Rufus quirked an eyebrow.

"Never, ever provoke him like that again." Zack snorted in amusement, a smirk twisting his lips.

"Hm. I'll keep that in mind."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Ok! So it's short and late but this is what my brain wrote. Everything else that I tried to type up for this chapter I hated so here we go! A little Cloud perspective. Tell me what you guys think and that you for waiting! I'll try and get the next one up as soon as I can.

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing.

* * *

He could see the flames licking at the buildings, smell the smoke filling the air, feel the heat of the flames near him. He knew, without checking, that the bodies on the ground were absent of life, the flames slowly moving towards them and smacking their lips at their next meal. Shadows passed before him, memories of a life he had left years ago, the promise of becoming a SOLDIER ringing in the air. Most had laughed at him, called him a dreaming fool. Someone like him could never get into such an elite fighting force. He didn't believe them. At the age of fourteen, his mother had signed the papers and shipped him off to Midgar to begin training. Wake, eat, train, learn, eat, learn train, sleep. That became his schedule and stayed his schedule even after he had met the bouncy Zackary Fair and become the great General Sephiroth's boy toy. He was certain that was all he had ever been to the man no matter how much his heart screamed a denial.

A shadow passed by him, walking slowly through the flames that seemed to part just for him, silver glinting in the light. The shadow disappeared up the hill, heading north towards the mako reactor near the top of the mountain. He followed. Heavy ground beneath his boots turned to metal, the light of flame replaced with the glow from mako and low track lighting in the floor and ceiling. Another shadow lay upon the stairs, a voice whispering for him to go, follow the other one and stop him. He did as he was told, bolting up the stairs and coming face to face with a man he didn't know. This man thrust forward and skewered him, lifting his squirming form from the floor and laughing at his pain.

His name escaped from his lips and he went flying, slamming into the wall behind, angry green glaring down at him. He whispered it again and again and again before darkness claimed him. He knew nothing for a very long time. When he woke, it was to fractured sentences he couldn't remember and blurred images he couldn't clear up. Again he slept and again he woke but to a different image. In a white room, leaning against the wall and nearly blending into it was a man with a tired face. White hair made him appear old at first glance but he wasn't. He was only a few years older than himself but he was indeed, very tired. They didn't care for each other at first, keeping their silence or arguing. The arguments gave way to vaguely civil chats and then conversations and they were inseparable. They became each others support system, giving comfort as best they could when one came back damaged.

He, however, had come back so damaged that he told his friend he would sleep for a while. Just a few hours to regain some strength. Those few hours turned to a few days. His naps became longer and longer, the pain in his body greater until he stopped waking up. It was not a kind thing to do to his companion he knew but he couldn't help it. He was so tired and everything hurt so much. Dreams came to him in short little bursts of image and muted sound. In them, he saw Zack, twisting in pain on a table or, more often, running on a treadmill while someone watched. He saw his nemesis broken and bloody, fighting shadows while defending Zack. No doubt he wanted the pleasure of killing Zack to be his, not the shadows. At this thought, his heart called him a liar.

That is what he did for the longest time, even after he had awakened to a world without the white room and no visits from doctors. He slept, ate, followed Genesis around like a puppy wanting the attention of its master and slept again. Slept and dreamed. He was certain that where he was, was no dream for everything felt far too real to be one. The images were sharper, the sound no longer muted and he could feel things. Feel things like the joy that spread through him at seeing Genesis and Zack whole and alive, their heart beats strong against his hand. He became reacquainted with fear at the sight of the general behind Zack though something whispered to him that he would not and could not hurt him. He didn't listen and instead of showing his fear to him, he ignored him, refused to pay attention to him and turned his attention to his friends. Paige, however, deserved his attention and when Genesis sprouted his wings and took off after her, it was like the cotton had been removed from his ears and he was awake, watching Paige flit around on the ground, laughing as she hurt Genesis. It made his heart race.

This place, this place was real. It was not some dream world he woke to on occasion but the real world, the one he hadn't thought he'd ever see again. It was real and he wasn't sure if he was relieved. What it meant, this place, was that the shadows he saw in the corners of his eyes, the people he heard speaking to him and saw following others without the other person noticing them were not figments of a fractured mind like he had believed. On the outside, he remained as calm as could be, interacting with Genesis and Zack, listening to people speak. The reality didn't hit him until after Paige's appearance and he curled up on the couch to stare at the wall, listening to the people crowded around him and coming to grips with the reality he now faced.

Genesis, thankfully, left him alone for the day and he didn't move. He laid there on the couch and listened, watched, dreamt. Tears spilled from his eyes at one point and he let them, curling into as small a ball as possible and sobbing as hard as he could. At one point, he must have passed out with the force of it for when he woke, it was to Genesis gently cleaning the tears and snot from his face. He kept his questions to himself and gathered him close, curling up with him and laying a blanket over them to warm his suddenly freezing body. It was shock, he supposed in a detached sort of way and he felt that he had a right to be in it. Everything to his point he had thought to be a dream and with one, eye opening event, he realized that it wasn't. Should he be happy or sad?

He didn't know. Time, he supposed, would tell and for right now he curled as close to Genesis as possible, relieved that the man was with him and allowing him to cry and shout his grief against his chest. They said nothing, ignored the knocking on the door and settled into an uneasy night of fractured dreams and realizations. Everything from this point on would be different. They were free. Free of Langley, the doctors. They could do as they wished, when they wished it. It was terrifying. It was liberating. A final sob wracked his frame and he fell still, his tears over, the shock fading. The world he thought to be a dream was real and he accepted it. When Genesis ran a shaking hand through his hair and whispered 'Kitten' against his ear he knew that his friend had accepted the reality as well. Neither knew what it would bring them but both knew they were terrified to find out.

"Will you teach me… like you promised?" he asked, voice small and barely audible. Genesis's arms tightened around him, his fingers curling in his hair.

"Yes," he whispered back. They had their starting point. From there, they would have to find out if it was a good thing that they had rejoined the world, if they could accept what had changed and what had to be fixed. One tiny, baby step at a time.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Hello! Sorry again for the long wait but tada! I have a chapter! Once again, thanks to my Koi for all the help! She sat down with me and helped me get some of the kinks worked out and helped me polish up this chapter right here. As always, I look forward to whatever feedback you guys give me and I thank you all for reading and for all of the reviews I've gotten. Though I haven't responded, I truly appreciate everyone's responses and critiques as well as the fact that you guys read my work. Thank you to everyone and please enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own a thing.

* * *

He supposed that it was morbid curiosity that kept him going. Sitting in the data analysis room, aka The Cave, almost twelve hours a day wasn't exactly his first choice upon entering the science department of ShinRa and he usually took measures to avoid it. He was a computer technician, yes, but that didn't mean that he liked staring at a computer screen all day. Now, however, he took his mandatory breaks to eat and sleep, taking time off when his partner switched with him but unlike before, this wouldn't leave him alone.

Using a filter, he removed all sound except for the doctor's voice as he took audio notes. His pen scratched quickly across paper, jotting down everything he observed from the duration of the session to the end time and the cause. His partner on this chunk of data typed up his hand written notes to be saved into the computer for later perusal. They had a chart now with columns and data entered in. Date, duration, session content, time of death, and cause of death.

The second two columns only applied if there was a time and cause of death. The earlier dates had mostly blank columns while the later dates slowly filled them up. With the slowly increasing number of deaths it began to become clear why the earlier dates didn't have the last two columns filled. Seemingly conscious of the effects repeated deaths and revivals would have on the boy's heart, the doctor seemed to stop just shy of the killing blow. He said that it was to get him closer to the life stream yet when that method didn't seem to be working as well as he had hoped, he went that one step further.

Cardiac arrest by strangulation twice, electric shock twice, smoke inhalation three times, drowning three times, gunshot wounds once. It was a startling list to be sure as one wouldn't expect the victim to still be alive after having their heart stopped eleven times. It gave him a little jolt whenever he saw the boy walking the halls of ShinRa with the former Crimson General at his side. He expected the boy to evaporate into thin air any second and he couldn't help staring until he rounded the corner out of sight or he pinched himself hard enough to realize that the boy was no ghost or hallucination.

He was flesh and blood, heart beating and lungs working, walking on his own power and responding to outside stimuli. It caused the part of his brain that went numb every morning he began his work to awaken and realize that perhaps there was credit to the scientifically impossible things people called miracles. He'd ponder it later, after he went to bed, as he always did. Giving himself a quick shake, he jotted down his final notes on the session dated 11.23.95 and handed them to the other technician to type up.

On the other side of the lab, another was working just as systematically through the Shield files. A similar curiosity seized the analyst as her mind wondered how one could have survived such a harrowing ordeal without going completely mad. Though she assumed that the man wasn't exactly in his right mind at the start of it, that being the only conclusion she could come to when faced with the fact that he had gone with Langley willingly. Of course, the added incentive of a possible cure to his degradation helped to make up his mind. She and her partner had a similar chart to the other techs. Date, time, session content, session length, recovery status, and combat outcome. She didn't focus so much on the conditioning segments or combat outcomes as she did on the recovery status. At the beginning of each recovery session a picture had been taken and a short summary written to measure the amount of progress made.

At the beginning, the Shield was pale, tired, his hair completely white and hanging limp and thin around his face. He stayed that way for many of the sessions until the nineteenth one where his face began to regain some of its color and life. A single lock of red hair appeared at twenty three weeks with more showing up every week. Week fifty three, however, showed the greatest improvement. She tended not to focus on the rest of the picture, ignoring the stark hospital like room, numerous tubes and leads attached to the unconscious man, the breathing tube shoved down his throat, just his face and hair.

The red had almost completely returned, the color back in his face though he was still a little on the pale side. The attached summary had claimed the surgery a complete success and as she flipped through the pictures she was inclined to agree. Perhaps wild materia wasn't as unstable as the materia researchers claimed. Wild cure materia seemed to work when a piece of it was inserted below the skin.

At sixty weeks, the Shield began to grow stronger, the materia inserted into his shoulder showing very few negative side effects as it slowly began to repair the damaged cells. Of course, there was one obvious side effect. It had previously been recorded, in the introductory notes, that the Shield was a blue eyed red head yet one of the effects of the wild materia seemed to be a change in his eye color. The bright, piercing blue was replaced with a deep reddish brown. It was striking and she wondered if the change would be permanent. Langley seemed to think so.

According to the notes, after he was deemed recovered from the surgery and on a swift road to full health, he was formally introduced to his partner, the Sword. More intensive training began with the two sparring two to three times per week. However, this is where Langley's plans began to backfire. In an attempt to build a greater bond of partnership between the two, Langley had begun putting them in the same room for days on end with no one else for company but each other. They would be checked on twice a day, given meals in that room and not be let out at all. In a way, his plan worked. Sword's feelings for Shield began to deepen quickly, spiraling into a dark pit of obsession that Langley hadn't anticipated.

At first, Langley had written off the obsession as a quickly growing bond that had yet to stabilize. He continued to ignore it, stating that Sword was stabilizing. It was natural, he asserted, for one raised in a normal fashion for fifteen years to come a little unhinged when they evolved into something great. Expecting Shield to understand this, he expressed his disappointment when Shield refused to work with her. Secretly, she applauded Shield for going against the doctor's orders continuously. If he hadn't, who knew what would have happened?

Her wandering mind was forced back into focus as she started the next video file. At first, she wasn't sure what she was watching. The video started normally enough, a white room, two occupants sitting on opposite beds, chatting amicably. Shield had his first wing out, absently rubbing at his opposite shoulder as though it pained him. They continued chatting for five minutes before a change could be seen. Shield froze suddenly and stayed that way for some time while the Eyes called to him, growing more worried the longer he remained a statue.

After many minutes, his arm twitched. The twitch started at the shoulder and worked its way down to his fingers. His shoulder twitched again thirty seconds later. Several more twitches, each stronger than the last, and he was on the floor, gritting his teeth in agony while the Eyes tried to brace him. The pain seemed to escalate until fine lines could be seen on the skin covering his shoulder blade. It almost appeared as though his skin was cracking but the lines smeared.

Squinting, she could make out the faintest movement under the skin. The flesh appeared to be trying to mimic water as several points pressed with growing speed against the skin. The lines grew bigger, racing down his back and sides to drip on the floor. His skin began to bubble as though blistering from a horrible burn. This continued for several more minutes, some of the "bubbles" seeming to burst on a small black point trying to emerge from the skin.

Several more "bubbles" later and the boiling froze, lumps of various size growing slowly and stretching the flesh. Shield's back arched with it, the Eyes watching in horror as Shield was slowly brought up to his knees, stretched tight, wing just barely brushing the ceiling of the room and suddenly the camera lens was painted black. She thanked Langley in the back of her mind for using a black and white camera to record everything.

The notes dated the same day mentioned the sudden growth of the wing and Langley seemed ecstatic about it. Apparently, he saw the wing as some sort of sign that he was on the right path, the man temporarily abandoning science to praise Gaia for blessing him with an angel. Absently, she made a note that the man was as mad as Hojo. Reno, the Turk that had taken an interest in Shield, snorted at that, turning away from the screen, no doubt to process what he had just witnessed. She herself sat stunned. After several minutes, twenty to be exact, of silence, she typed up her daily summary, handed it to the lead technician and left the lab, noting absently that Reno had taken her seat.

He could have it. She'd need a few days and perhaps an appointment with the councilor before she could go back to work. As she walked out of the science building, she spotted Geller and a few other technicians in a huddle, a cloud of smoke rising from them for a moment before dissipating. Walking over, she didn't have to ask before a lit cigarette was handed to her. The smoke that she hadn't breathed in six months was like heaven and temporarily distracted her from thoughts of a man growing a second wing. No questions were asked as they stood in a huddle and smoked, gazes focused inward as their minds tried to process.

Process. Perhaps in a few years she'd be able to process it but now, as she stood in a close circle with other technicians, smoking cigarette after cigarette with no thought to the damage it'd cause to her body, she could feel the shadow looming over her. Eric, the lucky bastard, had gotten out early, switching to the Hojo sector. The other mad scientist had mostly written notes and the few video files he had were so fragmented that they were easily ignored. Those techs could keep a barrier between themselves and the atrocities, pretending they were horrible science fiction stories instead of real events.

They didn't have a growing shadow creeping up on them from behind every second of every day or a growing, morbid curiosity to see what evil this psychopath could come up with next. She supposed it was like a car crash, something so horrible that you couldn't look away from and that people talked about for weeks. Inhaling the smoke from the circle as she stubbed out her second cigarette, she accepted another and tried to ignore the shadows and niggling questions. Janice began talking about her trip to Costa Del Sol. They all welcomed the distraction, hoping the mention of a place so sunny would chase away the shadows. For the moment anyway.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Nya! Updated sooner than I thought possible! The first half is wrtten by my Koi, BoomChick. Thank you, Koi! I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say about this one and as always thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own FFVII.

* * *

Chapter 19

There was something eerie about routine. Genesis had never liked routines, or stuck to them particularly well, but they had been forced upon him for the past five years, and goddess help him, they had stuck. Now that he was back in the home he had abandoned, with the friends who had abandoned him, in the world he no longer fit in, it sickened him to realize he was hitting his stride once more. He didn't want to be comfortable in this place, and yet the beds were soft, and the food filling, and there was no one to poke or prod him. At least not in the unpleasant way. It was a hum of confidence in the back of his mind that, had he wanted it, he could have had almost anyone in the building. There was an equally strong feeling , which annoyed him to no end, that he no longer wanted them, or romance at all, for that matter. It simply wasn't on his radar. He was completely ruled by the routine of day to day life.

He woke early, because he needed no more than four or five hours of sleep to be rested, and still had an air of unfulfilled tension and impatience about him. He watched Cloud sleep for a while, neither of them willing to split into different beds yet, though both of them knew it was inevitable now that they had returned to the 'real world.' Then he stood, stretched, showered briskly, without enjoyment, and started two cups of tea. When Cloud staggered blearily out of the room, his would be ready and waiting, but unfinished, because in the hold of Langley, Genesis had never thought to ask how much sugar Cloud liked in his. He would, usually, have asked, as he enjoyed doing little things like making tea for those close to him, but Cloud was growing ever more twitchy regarding his abilities to look after himself, and did not allow Genesis to so much as cook for him anymore. Their first words in the morning were always the same.

"Are you going to train me yet?" Cloud would ask, his words blurred a little by leftover weariness.

"Let me wake up a little, kitten," Genesis would reply, how own voice muffled by the teacup held to his lips, though both of them knew very well that he had been awake already for at least a couple of hours.

"I'm not a kitten," Cloud would grumble. The only difference, day to day, was the tone of the words as they were muttered. The first day, they had been indignantly amused and affectionate, but with each passing morning they grew more and more frustrated. Genesis was well aware that he should have taken his kitten's frustration seriously, but there was no help for it. Cloud was just too adorable when he was rumpled and grumpy.

They rarely bothered conversing further, both of them comfortable in silence with one another. They would wordlessly move together, cleaning up after breakfast, then split apart once more as Cloud went to get into daytime clothes and Genesis steeled himself against the morning. They would go and train, and maybe they would be able to get through their routines before Sephiroth arrived and Cloud closed down like a vault made of ice. Not that Genesis was much better. If Zack Fair shot him one more death glare, he was going to gut the boy, Sephiroth's friend or not. He didn't owe either of them anything, and he certainly didn't owe Shinra. The contract he had signed meant little to him, for no back pay or lush apartment would give him a childhood of normalcy, or make him human, or restore his best friend's life. There was nothing Shinra had that he wanted but Cloud.

They were out of luck that particular morning, because by the time they arrived in the gym, Sephiroth was already there. And the man was not pleased. Not pleased at all. Genesis thought it was actually rather amusing. For days now, whenever he was around his old, now former, friend, he would poke and prod at his sense of pride, making fun of the fact that he had fallen so low that Genesis never broke a sweat when they sparred and the matches were now a quarter of the length they used to be. And now, apparently, all that goading had gotten to him and had resulted in this.

"You're late, Rhapsodos!" Sephiroth barked, narrowed, blazing green eyes targeting him as he paused in the doorway. "Join the line up."

"Line up?" Genesis snorted, a disbelieving brow shooting to his hair line. Sephiroth's eyes, if it were possible, blazed brighter.

"Line up. Everyone in the First Class SOLDIER ranking is to be evaluated today and that includes you and Strife. Now, line up!" More amused than angered, Genesis took Cloud by the arm and led him to the line spanning the back of the gym where the rest of the Firsts stood, shaking in their boots as they were confronted with a long unseen sight. The General.

~*~

Sephiroth woke up that morning with a curious feeling in his stomach. It wasn't a negative feeling he was sure but it wasn't a particularly pleasant feeling either. He supposed it could be called anticipatory. Yes, the more he thought of it the more the word fit. As he went about his morning routine of spending two hours in the gym, showering, changing and eating breakfast, he realized that he was expecting something today. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, just that he was expecting something. Something… something pretty important.

When Zack asked if he was alright at breakfast, he waved the question off and continued to eat, puzzled over the feeling that continued to grow. It stayed with him to the end of breakfast and into the morning training session with the whole of the First Class. What was left of them anyway. When he had gone on the Nibelheim mission they had had one hundred and twenty three First Class SOLDIERs. Now, five years later, it was down to an astonishing seventy-one. Fifty-two First Classes in five years. That didn't sit well with him, not at all. And that realization hit him like a stampeding chocobo. The realization after that, however, slammed into him like one hundred stampeding chocobos and thirty-four semi trucks.

It was such a powerful feeling that he was left breathless for several minutes. Thankfully, he had situated himself on the walkway outside the observation room. It circled the entire gym and allowed him to watch the sparring Firsts from above to better gauge their current skill levels. When he regained his breath, his mind cleared and he came to several conclusions. The first was that the level of skill the Firsts were showing had lowered to that of a mid to high Second class.

Each and every First in the gym was making mistakes. Mistakes that he KNEW he had worked from them many years before. And they were simple mistakes! That is what shocked him so. The power was with them, they had the speed but the forms were atrocious. He could spot dozens of holes in each stance and could see Masamune taking advantage of them. It was pathetic. The second thing that he realized came with the remembrance of a phrase.

"Attitude reflects leadership." He couldn't remember exactly where he had heard it but it had struck a chord in him and did so again as he remembered. The reason the Firsts, HIS Firsts, were so horrible was perhaps because of his attitude. With a start, he realized that he had been wandering the halls of ShinRa, speaking to his soldiers, and working acting like a kicked puppy! He had come back to ShinRa and taken back his place with cheers of relief and joy from his soldiers echoing in his ears and what did he do? Instead of giving them the strong leader they needed, he gave them a kicked puppy with its head down and its tail tucked between its legs! He wasn't a damn puppy! He was General Sephiroth, leader of ShinRa's elite military force, the Demon of Wutai. Strong, quick, agile, tactical, one of the fastest minds on the planet! He was a monster not some newborn welp crawling along on its belly with its eyes closed!

With that in mind and a vicious snarl curling his lips he stepped onto the railing and lept to the floor, landing easily on his feet, walking up behind one of the pairs and backhanded Arlen so hard he fell to the floor when he turned to face him. The room fell silent. A rush of anger, both at himself and his SOLDIERs, filled him as he looked around the large room, taking in the stunned faces and finally noticing the lost muscles mass of each SOLDIER.

"Arlen," he said, his voice eerily calm and echoing in the silent room. "Care to tell me why my SOLDIERs, my _First Class_ SOLDIERs are making mistakes only a second would make? Also, explain to me why Bruski, the human steel wall, has lost perhaps fifteen percent muscles mass during my absence. And perhaps someone could enlighten me as to why you all are so pathetically sloppy!!" Arlen's jaw, by this point was hanging open so far, Sephiroth was sure that if it could unhinge and stretch, it'd be on the floor. Normally, Arlen was one of the most composed men he had but now he looked more like a landed fish than an elite SOLDIER. The sneer remained on Sephiroth's face as he turned from him and pulled his glove from his pocket, tugging the leather over his hands.

"Everyone against the back wall!" He ordered, the men scrambling to comply after another few moments of silence and a narrow eyed glare. "We're going to have an evaluation day." As he was about to call the first man forward, the door slid open and drew his attention to Genesis and his constant shadow Cloud. But he wouldn't let this throw him off. While tensions between himself and Cloud were strained at best, he was now determined to follow the advice Zack had given him a few days prior.

"Yeah, Cloud doesn't seem too happy," Zack had said. "But… maybe you should give him some time to get used to the outside world again. I mean hell! You remember how bad we were around people for the first time in four years!" He did and always would. So now, he would put aside his sorrow over his lover shunning him and focus on getting himself fixed first. One had to fix themselves or else what good were they to others?

"You're late, Rhapsodos!" He barked, ignoring the fact that things between himself and Genesis weren't at their best right now either. "Join the line up."

"Line up?" Genesis snorted, a disbelieving brow shooting to his hair line.

"Line up. Everyone in the First Class SOLDIER ranking is to be evaluated today and that includes you and Strife. Now, line up!" Sephiroth read the surprised amusement in Genesis's gaze before he took Cloud by the arm and led him to the other Firsts against the back wall. Zack trailed along behind, most likely having snuck in when Sephiroth was distracted. Snorting internally he ran a cool gaze over the assembled group and felt a bit of his old self bleed into his muscles, the shell of the hard ass Zack had always called him encasing him like a second skin. And he was glad for it.

"Bruski!" He called, the large man jumping and moving forward tentatively. For that, Sephiroth grabbed his arm when he was close enough and tossed him over his shoulder.

"Don't cower, you brain dead wall of flesh." Letting him go, Sephiroth stepped back and took great satisfaction when Bruski stared for only a moment before springing to his feet and aimed a kick at his head. Perhaps, if Bruski's enthusiasm was anything to go by, things were not all lost. Merely…. Fractured and in need of repair. And things would be repaired if he had any say in it.


End file.
